RWBY: Dark Storm
by KeySlinger09
Summary: After having finally been defeated and died, Xehanort is given the offer to fight against a threat to within another world. Taking the offer, Xehanort is brought back to life and now fights to gain power, and to prove that he will not let another form of darkness overrule him. However, will he turn to the path of light, or return to the path of darkness?
1. Chapter 1

**Now here's a story that no one would've expected. In my opinion, this story's going to be like Brussel sprouts, marmite, and the Irish singers 'Jedward'. Either you like them or absolutely DISPISE them (It's the latter for all three for me). Hopefully, you'll all like it.**

 **Either way, it's something I'm going to try, and I'll keep on going with it when I can. I got the idea after reading a Kingdom Hearts/Familiar of Zero crossover called 'A Heart in the Void', which I highly recommend you check out when you get the chance. It's savage.**

 **Also, just to let you know, if there are any readers of my other stories and caught my notice of the 'Fairy Tail: Dark Void' reboot, I've decided to put that on hold, as I already have writer's block trying to come at it at a new angle. Plus, just to put your minds at ease, I'm still writing the first, and I will say that there's going to be an appearance that will both surprise you, and make you go 'of course', probably with an eye roll in there.**

 **Right. Let's get on with this. Enjoy.**

"It… seems that… I've lost."

In a barren wasteland, the only thing to decorate the desert were thousands of key-shaped swords, all of which were damaged, rusted or both. In this waste land rested the body of an elderly man, bald, ember eyes, tanned skin, pointed ears and a goat-like beard on his chin. He was wearing silver armor and another Key-shaped sword rested by his side.

The elderly man looked up to see the form of a boy with blue eyes, brown spiky hair, tanned skin and armor colored gold, silver and blue, look down on him with sympathy. The boy knelt beside the elderly man, surprising him.

"I did… not imagine that… you would show me… sympathy. I caused you… So much… pain in your life." He managed to say, each word a struggle to say as he tried his hardest to fight against the pain he felt.

"I never wanted it to end like this, Xehanort." The boy said. "I know that we're enemies, but… I still wanted to save you."

Xehanort widened his eyes with surprise. "My… my. You are… full of surprises… Sora." He tried to push himself up, only to fail and fall back on the ground. "Tell me… why did you wish to… save me?"

Sora closed his eyes for a second, suddenly filled with guilt after hearing the pain in Xehanort's voice. "I… know you fought for the light once. I know that you once fought to protect people. Not just to gain power. I wanted to save that part of you." He clutched his fists. "And… I failed."

At this, Xehanort let off a small chuckle. "Foolishness… you should know better… than to pity a man like me." His breathes were becoming slower. "Still… I suppose congratulations… are in order. You protected the balance… saved the worlds from… whatever the result of… the Keyblade War's effect. You have proven yourself… to be a master… above masters."

Xehanort's eyes were now slowly closing, the last of his life was draining from his body. "I should've kill you… long ago…" With those final words, Xehanort breathed his last, his life finally coming to an end.

Sora stood up onto his feet and regarded his enemy one last time. "May you finally find some peace, Xehanort. Best wishes in the next life."

…..

 _Xehanort couldn't feel anything. He lost his senses, he wasn't properly conscious… he was stuck in an endless sleep. More than once he had wondered what it would be like when he finally met his end. If he was able to actually tell what was happening to him, he wouldn't have been happy._

" _Wake up…"_

 _Xehanort quickly opened his eyes. He looked around, finding himself in a an endless black void. Feeling the ground beneath him, he pulled himself off of the ground and looked around, wondering where he was._

" _Who's there." He said. He held out his hand, trying to summon his Keyblade. However, much to his shock, the blade didn't respond. Xehanort gritted his teeth and glared into the void. "What is this? WHO BROUGHT ME HERE!?"_

" _If you will allow me to explain…"_

 _Xehanort whipped his body around, hold out his arms in a similar battle stance to his younger nemesis, and gave a calm, cool stare to the owner of the voice. The speaker that stood before him was a woman who, despite her appearance, help the kind of power that could've required decades, if not centuries, of training to have. She had long, green hair, snow-pale skin and brown eyes, she wore what seemed to be a wedding dress with golden frills and she carried a staff that had a large star on the top._

" _My name is Zara. I am a deity of time and space. My role is to observe what happens in the universe. However, I cannot interfere with any activities of those who live, or what they are doing."_

 _Xehanort gave her a snide smirk and ran his hand over his head. "Quite the useless deity, aren't you? All that power and-"_

 _Xehanort stopped mid-sentence as he felt something on his head. Rubbing his head back and forth, he realized that there was hair on his head. He looked at his head, seeing that he wasn't wearing gloves. What shocked him the most that his hand appeared more… youthful._

 _He looked down at his form and saw that he was wearing the clothes he wore when he was training with Eraqus. He looked back up at the woman, who had a small smile on her face and she had her eyes closed, as if anticipating something exciting._

" _What is this?" he asked._

" _Like I said, I cannot alter things with the living. However…" she opened her eyes. "The deceased are within my jurisdiction."_

 _Xehanort, not liking that he was being so easily affected by something beyond his power, felt tempted to tear the being head to toe. "What business do you have with me?"_

 _At this, the deity looked a little saddened. "I have seen you during your life, Xehanort. You once fought for what was right, but the darkness took over your heart." She looked directly into his eyes. "Allow me to say, while you were correct that the darkness can be used to fight for the light, you were not strong enough to conquer its negative effects."_

 _Xehanort shrugged his shoulders and held his hand out up to his shoulder. "Seemingly. Otherwise we wouldn't be having this meeting."_

 _Not really understanding the joke, Zara nodded her head. "Yes, correct. Tell me this, Xehanort. What would you do to fully conquer the darkness? To use it to become the hero that you once wished to be?"_

 _At this, Xehanort quirked an eyebrow at her. "… Why are you offering me this? What have you to gain?"_

 _At this, Zara looked at her guest with apprehension. She found it difficult to speak of the topic, as dark matters were not something she wished to get involved with. Nevertheless, she pressed on. "There is a world, Xehanort. One that is going to fall into its own darkness. There is a strong light that will one day prove to be a powerful threat to the dark, but I'm afraid it will be enough."_

 _Xehanort formed a slight smile on his face, catching on to what the deity was getting to. "You wish to fight fire with fire? Darkness with darkness?"_

 _Zara nodded. "Correct. I… I wouldn't normally chose for one of the dark to make this choice. But I know how powerful you are. And you have been through the darkest parts of existence. I feel that you can fight against this evil and save them."_

 _Xehanort rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. "As interesting as this sounds, m'lady." Xehanort started sarcastically. "It seems that you are forgetting that I am dead. Unless you plan for me to haunt this world like a ghost and attempt to frighten them like a cheap haunted house prop, I don't see the logic."_

" _That is why I will restore your life." Zara countered, slightly surprising Xehanort. "With this, you will be able to carry out the mission… but it will also allow you live a life of peace. One filled with light, one that will bring you true happiness."_

 _Xehanort scoffed at the deity. He didn't believe that it would be possible for him to lead a nice life. The idea was far from possible to even stomach. The Keyblade Master has made far too many mistakes in his life to have earned the right to live a nice life._

" _You are just as foolish as that boy." Xehanort commented._

" _Perhaps." Zara pointed out, knowing who Xehanort was talking about. "However, I have never been wrong before. And I have no doubt that this will be any different."_

 _At that, Xehanort's brow slightly raised. It was interesting to see how confident the woman had suddenly become. He turned his eyes upwards, pondering on whether or not it was worth taking her up on her offer. On the one hand, there didn't seem to be much to do here. What's more, it would grant him the ability to further increase his power._

 _He looked back at the deity with a small, menacing smirk. "And how are you sure that I won't try to leave the world when I am brought back? Once I am brought back, I'm sure you will have lost your power over me."_

 _Zara grinned in response. "Once you find this world, I'm sure that you will find it hard to leave."_

 _At this point, Xehanort wished that he could summon his Keyblade, as he didn't like it when people made assumptions for him. Nevertheless, he was more curious as to what this world had to offer that would make him stay._

"… _One last thing." He said while pointing his index finger up level to his eyes. "It seems that I've suddenly lost the ability to summon my weapon. Without it, I won't be of much use to this mission of yours."_

 _Instantly responding to Xehanort's point, Zara pointed her staff into the air and allowed it to glow a blinding light. After it faded, Xehanort felt a strong surge of energy flow through his right hand. He looked down and saw his Keyblade forming in his palm. After it was complete, a blade-like grin formed on his face._

" _Have you any other complaints? Master Xehanort?" Zara asked._

 _The now young Xehanort slowly looked at the deity, a chilling, malevolent mask of eagerness present on his face. "This place does seem like a boring place to take a nap anyway." He said, paraphrasing a particular Keyblade wielder._

 _Zara nodded her head. "Well said." with that, her staff illuminated once more. A few seconds later, the black void became white, the deity caught up in the light and completely obscuring Xehanort's vision. Initially startled, Xehanort held up the blade like a shield._

" _What the HELL!?"_

 _A few seconds later, when the light faded, Xehanort disappeared. The void returned to black and Zara was all alone. As she stood by herself, she clutched the staff with both her hands and looked down at the ground with doubt clouding her mind._

" _Did I… make the right choice?"_

…

Xehanort's vision slowly went back to normal. Needless to say, he was not pleased with nearly being blinded by the strong light that struck his eyes. When his eyes were fully recovered, he looked around the area, expecting to still be in the dark void. His ability to trust others than himself was vastly low, so he half-expected the deity to double cross him.

Surprisingly, he found himself standing in a woodland area, trees towering over him, but not bunched together, allowing sunlight to shine in and highlight various points of the forest. Xehanort heard the sound of rushing water nearby. He turned his head to see a stream of running water.

"… No harm in something to drink, I suppose." He said out loud. He walked over to the stream and knelt down at the edge. Before he could even touch the water, the Keyblade Master caught of his reflection… or rather, what WAS his reflection some time ago.

He was surprised, albeit not completely, as he knew his appearance had been altered after feeling actual hair on his head earlier. He looked like himself when he was fifteen years old, only this time he had pale skin, amethyst eyes and his years were no longer pointed. His hair, unlike the hairstyle used by the younger version of himself he recruited, while it did reach down to his neck from behind, the fringe was sticking out and lowered over his forehead, seemingly messier than he recalled.

Xehanort stared at the reflection for a moment, taking in his new form. After a few seconds, he sighed and let his hand drop into the stream, collecting some for him to drink.

" _It seems the deity thought it best to change my appearance_." he thought. " _Perhaps it was wise, as I recall many being rather intimidated by my previous one… much to my offence_."

Nevertheless, he continued to take handful after handful of water from the stream until he was fully hydrated. After he had finished, he got back onto his feet and walked through the forest. Seeing as he wasn't sure where to go, he decided to wander around until he found a clue. Foolishness to some, but then again, he had quite the level of power under his belt. Added with the fact that he knew how to survive in the wilderness, h would survive.

After a few minutes of walking, he eventually got bored. He found a rock to sit on and looked up towards the sky. "Is there nothing to do here?" he asked out loud.

As if to answer the question for him, a low growl emitted from one of the bushes. Xehanort shot up from the stone and summoned his Keyblade. He quickly eyed the area, making sure if any other creatures were present. Apparently, there were, as numerous creatures crawled out from the vegetation.

These creatures looked lie wolves, all of which had black fur, wore bone in various places on their bodies like armour, as well as bone masks on their faces, each revealing a pair of blood-hungry, red eyes underneath. They all stared at Xehanort, expecting him to be an easy kill.

The silver haired Master, however, grinned back at the monsters, his eyes forming a looked of dark anticipation.

"I wonder… are these the darkness that Zara spoke of?" he asked himself out loud. He then let off a small chuckle, catching the creatures off guard. "Alright. Show me what you can do."

With that, Xehanort ran towards the creature in front of him, beheading it in under a second. This was followed by the Keyblade master throwing his Keyblade at one to the first's left, slicing it in two by the hip. At a third came up to him, bearing down a sharp-looking set of claws, the Keyblade spun back to Xehanort, who caught it effortlessly and sliced the monster's arm off, followed by a thrust to its chest, stabbing it in the sternum. The monster let out a roar filled with pain and agony before slowly going limp.

When Xehanort was sure it was dead, he swung the body around at launched to the feet, or rather, the hind legs, of the remaining creatures. Seeing the body fade away into ash, the remaining creatures took a step back from Xehanort, now suddenly fearing the Keyblade Master's power.

Xehanort smirked. "Oh, don't leave yet." He said, his Keyblade suddenly morphing into a ball of dark energy. "After all, you've get to see my grand finale."

With that, he threw the ball at the monsters, which came in contact with the head of one of the monsters. As it did, it exploded, creating a shock-wave of dark energy that tore the remaining monsters to pieces. Through a cloud of black smoke, the Keyblade reformed and spun back towards Xehanort, who caught it effortlessly. He dismissed the weapon and looked at the burning area.

He was not impressed.

"Hmph. I was right. Zara was just messing with me." He commented, turning his back away from the scene. "Why bother to have e fight such weakli-?"

He hadn't walked six feet when he suddenly heard the sound of someone, presumably a woman, screaming at the top of her lungs. As she did, a bright light that shone in the distance. As it did, he heard the sound of wolves howling in agony, which he guessed was the sound of the creatures he fought earlier.

At this, Xehanort widened his eyes, feeling a strong level of power coursing through the light. After only a few seconds the light and all traces of its power faded. Still… it caught the interest of the Keyblade Master, who wore a malevolent smile on his face.

He let off a small chuckle before saying "Well, it seems that there _is_ something in this world that is worth my time."

….

"You've got… to be kidding me"

A woman with short, cropped raven hair and red highlights on tips, silver eyes and pale skin was lying on her front, looking up at a hoard of black-furred beasts. She pushed herself, looking for anything on her person that could help her. Her eyes only met the black top, light grey pants, combat boots and white cloak that she was wearing.

She looked to her right and saw the sword that she was using, thinking that she could use it to fight off the beasts. As she tried to move, however, a sharp pain surged through the left side of her waist, causing her to gasp in response to the pain. She looked back down and saw that her clothes were torn in that particular area, revealing a long gnash that looked to be bleeding heavily.

Gritting her teeth and doing her best to fight off the pain, she slowly moved towards her sword. The beasts that were surrounding her didn't move, knowing full well that she wouldn't be able to fight back either way.

She still managed to reach her blade and held it by the handle, sticking it into the ground and using it to push herself onto her feet. When she was standing, she eyed the creatures with a stern glare, but also with a strong level of doubt present in her mind.

Summer Rose is a Huntress, a warrior with the duty of protecting the innocent from evil, whether it be in the form of criminals or the creatures of Grimm, which was the name of the creatures before her. She had taken a mission to eliminate a group that had appeared on the island of patch, where she lived.

One can imagine her surprise when she saw that there were ten times more, at least, than was reported. It had been a rough battle, managing to kill off most of the pack, but she was severely wounded after being hit with their claws more than once, which eventually drained her of her aura. As she felt her legs give way, a few tears crawled down her face.

She was afraid. Not of dying, but more so of leaving behind her children. She was married to her life-long crush, Taiyang Xiao Long. Before she married him, however, he was married to his first love, Raven. For whatever reason, after their daughter was born, she left him and their child. See how he needed help, Summer help Tai raise the child. In their time spent together, they eventually fell in love and married, resulting in the birth of another child.

Summer loved both Yang and Ruby with all her heart, seeing them as the light in her life. And now… it seemed like they were going to be left without a mother. Thinking about her husband and daughters, remembering how that all gathered together to say bye and to wish her good luck, the tears only increased as she felt her heart break.

"Yang… Ruby… Tai… please forgive me." She whispered, closing her eyes.

As she did, she heard one of the beasts roar. A split second later, she heard the sound of air being slashed and a howl of pain filling the air. She opened her eyes and looked up to see a young teen holding an oddly shaped sword… that was embedded in the Grimm's chest. As second later, the boy turned the weapon inside the creatures, creating the unpleasant sound of numerous bones crunching within. After turning the weapon enough, he swiped it to his right, slicing the creature from within and freeing his weapon.

Summer widened her eyes at the display, but was more concerned for the boy's safety. "What are you doing!?" she cried, despite her waist causing her great pain. "It's not safe here!"

"I can see that." The boy said, his cold eyes now looking at Summer, more specifically at her wound and the small pool of blood. Summer then saw him making eye contacted, causing her to feel a chill go down her spine as she saw to cold stare he was giving.

He then pointed his weapon directly at her face, too fast for her to react. When she registered the weapon, she tried to pull her own weapon up, only to fall short as she was losing her strength.

"Heal." He said. The tip of his weapon was then coated on a green light for a few seconds later. As it faded, a similar green light appeared around Summer. She saw the light radiating off of her, surprised and unable to make sense of what was going on. Her worries were soon put to rest, however, when her injury was soon starting to heal. Within two seconds, the injury was gone.

"Surprised?" the boy asked.

Summer looked back at him. He was now looking at her with a calmer expression. Her fear of the boy was slowly fading, replaced with gratitude for what he did for her. She smiled up at him and closed her eyes.

"Thank you." She said to him.

The moment was broken when a louder roar rippled through the air. Summer and the boy looked towards where they heard the sound and saw, much to Summer's horror, a wolf-like Grimm that was twice the size of the other wolves, with plenty more bone armor coating its torso.

"A… an Alpha Beowolf!" Summer exclaimed.

The boy's eyes were focused on the creature, but his eyebrow quirked at the sound of Summer calling out the name of the creature. He hadn't heard of a creature like this before. Actually, much to his surprise, this creature felt a lot stronger than the others he was fighting before.

"I'm assuming that this one will be a bit more difficult to manage…" he paused for a moment before turning to face Summer. "What is your name again?"

"YOU'RE ASKING THAT NOW!?" she cried, amazed to see that he didn't give much thought to the fact that his life was on the line.

With the boy's attention diverted, the monster charged towards him, planning on taking his head off with one strike. However, the boy proved to be sharper than he looked, spinning around at the last second and slicing the monster's paw off. He then ducked low and dashed for the creature's stomach, embedding his free hand within and summoning a ball of ice, which expanded until spikes of ice penetrated the creature from within.

Summer watched on, amazed to see the boy somehow create ice with his free hand. " _How is he doing that? Is that his Semblance? But then how did he heal me?_ " her mind was racing with questions, but she was brought out of her thoughts when the remainder of the pack howled in anger.

The boy saw this and grinned. Raising his weapon up as high as he could, the weapon was soon coated in dark electricity.

"THUNDER!" he roared.

As soon as he said that, pillars of lightning shot down from the sky, each one striking Beowolf and killing it on the spot. When all the Grimm were killed. He looked back at the creature, which was now encased in ice, before pulling his hand out from the ice. As he did, the frozen Alpha was obliterated, shards of ice and fading Grimm flesh flying through the air.

The boy craned his neck to one side, stretching the muscles within. He turned back to see how the woman was doing, only to find that she was after feinting. As to if whether or not it was from the blood loss or his sudden display of power, he wasn't sure.

He sighed. He then looked around and saw a small settlement in the distance. It was faint from where he was standing, but it was there. He looked back at the woman and pondered on what to do next. On the one hand, he didn't particularly care for her safety, but he did promise Zara that he would protect the light in this world in exchange for his resurrection.

Also… that power he felt earlier. He could sense it coming from her. He wasn't sure as to how she was able to do it, but if there was a chance to see how that power works, he wasn't going to waste an opportunity to study it.

In the end, he picked up the woman bridal style and ran as quickly as he could to the settlement.

…

Summer slowly opened her eyes. Her vision was a little blurry, and her thoughts were a bit hazy, but at least she was okay. Taking a moment to relax, she slowly lifted herself up. Her eyes widened when she felt the surface that her hand was on. She looked down and saw that she was lying on a bed. She looked around, seeing that she was in a large hospital room.

"How… did I…?" she started.

"I brought you here."

Summer jumped and turned her head to a familiar looking boy, sitting in a far corner of the room, reading a magazine. When he saw that she was awake, he lowered the reading material onto his lap and smiled. "My apologies. I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's, um… it's fine." She said, still a little confused. "How did I get here?"

Xehanort quirked an eyebrow, but said nothing. "Well, after I took care of the rest of those monsters, I found that you feinted. I brought you here, thinking they could help you. Fortunately, they did." He leaned back in his chair. "You were weak from a lack of blood in your system, but they gave you a transfusion, so you should be fine."

When Xehanort mentioned the Beowolves, she suddenly remembered how he sliced them all down so easily. She was silent for a moment before asking for his name.

The Keyblade master smirked. "Xehanort." He answered.

"No last name?" Summer asked, to which she got a slow shake from Xehanort's head. "Well, my name is Summer Rose. I just want to thank you, Xehanort. I don't think I would've survived without your help."

Xehanort was silent for a moment before nodding his head. "You're welcome." He said. he then titled his head to one side. "Why were you out there?"

"I'm a Huntress." She said. "I took a job to take care of the Beowolves you saw me fighting… but… there were too many for me to handle alone. I… I thought I was going to-"

"Silence." Xehanort said with a calm, but stern tone. "Don't all ow yourself to think of what could've happened. Phrases like 'could've, should've and would've' only work to drive us mad with doubt. In other case, granted, they lead us to taking dark paths. Focus on the present, and feel happy that you are alive." He said. he then looked upwards for a moment while pondering on something. "You _are_ happy to be alive, aren't you?"

At this, Summer looked at him like he had two heads. "Huh? Of course I am." She said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Then stop thinking about what could've happened back there. And be grateful that you're still alive."

While he did sound harsh to the woman who had only just survived a life or death moment, Summer could see his point. After another brief moment of silence, Summer nodded her head.

"Thank you again, Xehanort." She said.

"You're welcome… again." He responded. He then looked down at the floor for a moment before a thought occurred, thinking about something Summer just said. "If you don't mind me asking, what are-"

Before he could finish, he heard someone walking down the hall towards them. Deciding that there was no point in being near any more people, as he didn't like having to answer any questions, he stood up from his seat.

"Forgive me, Summer, but I must leave." He said.

Summer looked at the boy with a slightly look of disappointment on her face. "What? You have to go already?"

Xehanort nodded. "Remember what I said. Be grateful for all that you now have." He said. before he left, he stood within the door frame and gave the woman a small smirk. After that, Xehanort took his leave. After escaping Summer's line of sight, he opened a corridor of darkness and left the hospital. After it faded, three people, a man with two little girls, walked around a corner and quickly made their way into Summer's room.

Her eyes widened with joy after they came into the room. "Tai! Girls!" she yelled.

"Mommy!" Cried a girl around five years old, she was the spitting image of Summer, same hair, eyes and skin tone.

"Are you okay, Mom?" asked the other girl, having lilac eyes, pale skin and blond hair.

They were each on one side of her bed as they held onto her hands. Seeing their worry, Summer giggled slightly and gave them an toothy grin. "It's okay, I'm fine. The doctors are super cool here." She said.

That seemed to cheer the girls up. Summer then looked up towards her husband, who had short, blond hair, blue eyes, a hint of stubble on his jaw line and a quite well tanned. He was holding a group of roses, tied together with a line of golden fabric, which also supported a card which had a smiley face on it.

"Aw, thank you." She said, clearly happy with the love she was being shown. She looked back at the girl with blond hair. "Yang, can you and Ruby go into the waiting room? I need to speak with Daddy about something boring." She said, rolling her eyes at the last part.

"Aw, five more minutes." Yang said. However, she changed her mind after a few seconds when she saw that her mother was really keen to talk to Tai about something. Yang let out a sigh of defeat. "Okay, We'll go. C'mon Ruby."

"Five more minutes." Ruby said, imitating Yang.

"… Maybe they have cookies?" Yang suggested.

"COOKIES!" Ruby yelled as she soon bolted for the door. Yang was surprised by the speed.

"Hey, Ruby! Slow down. Hey!" Yang yelled as she tried to catch up with Ruby.

Tai chuckled as he saw them go off. "I wonder if Ruby will get any faster growing up?" he wondered out loud. He then looked over towards Summer, who now looked a little apprehensive. Tai's brow raised at this. "You okay. Honey?"

Summer was silent for a moment before speaking. "Tai… when I was on that mission… there were more Beowolves than were reported." Her hands were tarting to tremble. "I… I tried using my powers, but… I was already too weak. I thought I… Tai, I was going to die."

Hey, hey." He said, with a comforting tone of voice, walking right next to his wife and holding her close. They were embracing each other for a bit until Summer stopped trembling. When Tai freed Summer, she looked at him with a gratifying smile.

"So… what happened? How did you escape?" he asked.

"Before they finished me… someone got in the way and blocked them. He wasn't any older than fifteen, I think. I… you should've seen him, Tai. He sliced them all like it was nothing. He punched a hole in an Alpha's stomach before freezing him from the inside out. He called lightning from the sky. He…" she looked down at where she was hurt, lifting up her shirt to reveal a light pale scar where she had been hit. "He healed me."

Tai's eyebrow when up bit by bit every time Summer pointed out each thing that Xehanort did. When he heard about the healing, he tilted his head to one side, having slight difficulty processing the information.

"Uh… he did all those things at once?" he asked in confusion, receiving a nod from Summer as a response. "How?"

Summer was silent as she pondered on an explanation. However… there was only one answer jumping out at her, and she didn't think it was possible.

"I think I know." She said. "I think… I think that we was like Ozpin."

"Ozpin? What do you…" Tai stopped speaking as he caught on, both aware of a particular secret that Ozpin held. "Oh."

Summer nodded. "There's someone, someone who isn't a maiden, who is able to use magic."

Both were silent for as they thought about this. Taiyang chose to break the silence. "So… what are we going to do?" he asked.

"I don't know." Summer admitted. "I… I think we should leave him alone."

"What!?" Tai asked.

"When I saw him fighting… there was something about him. He fought without mercy, not afraid to slice down anything in his path." She looked down at her hands. "I don't think he'd be happy if more people knew about him."

"So were supposed to keep our mouths shut? What if he's a bad guy?" Tai pointed out. "We can't just let him wander around in case he's planning on causing trouble."

"He won't." Summer said, surprising her husband. "He's smart. I could tell. He won't do anything that will risk exposure. He looked like…" Summer was silent for a moment, remembering the look in his eyes. While he did seem to show a slight sliver of compassion, there was something in his eyes that showed something… darker. "He has a goal. He won't risk getting caught if it means not achieving it."

Both were silent again, this time a feeling of dread running through them. They were interrupted from their thoughts when they heard the sound of someone knocking.

"Mommy! Are you finished!?" Ruby asked loudly.

"C'mon, Mom, We want to talk." Yang added.

Summer and Taiyang looked at the door for a moment before their smiles were reformed on their faces. With a small laugh, Summer said that they could come in. As soon as she did, the girls burst through the door and ran up to their mother. All of Summers fears were washed away in an instant.

 _Be grateful for all that you have_

Xehanort's words went through her head one more time, a smile forming on her face, happier than ever to be with the ones she loved.

" _I am… thank you…_ " she thought.

…..

Xehanort dug his Keyblade into the soil as he looked up into the sky. He was back in the forest, intending to find as many of these monsters as possible. 'The Creatures of Grimm' seemed to be nothing compared to the Heartless. His point well proven as several torn or sliced pieces of Beowolf Grimm were scattered across the ground and fading away into existence.

Truth be told, he didn't find anything of interest here other than Summer's power. He remembered the deity saying that there would be something to keep him here, but there was no such thing present. Nevertheless, he did make an agreement.

"This will be such a boring time." He said to himself.

His ears then perked, the sound of another creature coming up behind him. He turned around and saw the shape of a monster that was far bigger than the Beowolves. It was at least one and a half times their size, taiking on the appearance of a bear. The Keyblade Master shook his head.

"Another boring duel, I see." He said as he rushed over towards the beast.

" _Boring?"_

At the sound of this voice, Xehanort was momentarily distracted. The bear-like Grimm saw this and charged towards him, swiping a claw and sending him flying towards the Cliffside. He slid off the edge but managed to catch on just before he fell. As he pushed himself back up, he felt a new presence quite close by. When he managed to get himself back on the surface, he looked directly in front of him, only to be surprised by the new figure standing before him.

It was a woman with death-like paleness, hair styled with a formal look, red eyes with the whites turned black, veins formed arounf the eyes. She wore a black cloak, which only revealed a pair of hands with rather long fingernails. Xehanort smirked as she seemed like a more powerful version of Maleficent.

" **My apologies for starting you, my boy.** " She started, a dark smile forming on her face. " **Permit me to introduce myself. My name is Salem. I command these creatures of Grimm.** " She said. She hovered towards the bear and lightly stroked its fur. " **They are my darlings. My beautiful soldiers of darkness.** "

"… Color me 'unimpressed'." Xehanort simply said. He was by no means impressed with the Grimm; that was clear. However, he could tell that this woman had more power under her belt than she was letting on. As such, he felt that there was no harm in antagonizing her into unleashing it.

Salem glared at Xehanort before speaking to him. " **Yes… I can see how you killed some of my Grimm. While I am quite… offended by this, I would like to make an offer.** "

Xehanort raised an eyebrow at the woman. "Offer?"

" **Your skill and power is beyond that of any Huntsman. Yet you are only a child. Imagine the potential that you will have in the future.** " She started. She then held out a hand to him. " **Join me. Help me remake this world. Bring it to its knees and return it to the darkness.** "

Xehanort observed the woman while he quickly thought about what she was offering. It was clear front he start that she isn't one to be trusted. He could also tell that she was drunk on power, willing to do whatever it took to achieve her goals. He couldn't help but smirk as he felt that it was like looking in a mirror.

However…

"Interesting offer." He started. A split second later, he slashed his Keyblade and took off Salem's hand in one strike. He used the momentum to spin around and follow the slash with a side kick to Salem's stomach , sending her flying back as she screamed in pain. "That was my counter offer."

At this point, a dark aura was quickly forming around Salem as she glared at Xehanort. " **You… you will NOT SEE THE END OF THIS DAY!** " she roared, aiming her remaining hand at him and firing a blast of dark energy.

Xehanort grinned malevolently as he held up his Keyblade in defense, blocking the attack and pushing it to one side, the deflected energy destroying a number of trees in the process. The Keyblade Master dashed forward and thrusted his weapon at Salem's head, only to have the bear step in his path.

Xehanort wasn't fazed in the slightest, instead throwing his weapon directly through the monster's head, cutting it into two, and et the weapon fly through the woods. Xehanort jumped high into the air and was quickly falling towards the Mother of Grimm. Salem thought him foolish for running at her without a weapon. Taking the opportunity, she built up more dark energy and formed it into a pair of clawed hands, planning on using them to tear him apart.

As the hands charged towards Xehanort, he spun around and motioned his hand like he was preparing to strike with his weapon. Just as the clawed hands were about to strike him, Xehanort's Keyblade returned to him, allowing him to slice the hands and destroy them.

Now, all Salem could do was watch as Xehanort brought down his weapon down on her and sliced through Salem. Although there didn't seem to be any physical damage, the attack was still enough o bring the woman down onto her knees. She looked up at Xehanort with a vicious glare, as one would expect from a wild animal.

Xehanort huffed at this. "You expected me you join someone as weak as you?" he asked. Turning away, he said "Don't make me laugh."

Before Xehanort could walk any further away from the woman, he heard a soft laugh from behind. He turned to see Salem slowly getting back onto her feet, a small smirk present on her face as a line of darkness appeared where she was hit with the attack. After a few seconds, the line vanished and Salem laughed again, as if the attack hadn't even happened.

" **Aren't you full of surprises.** " Salem commented.

"It seems I'm not the only one." Xehanort said back, his eyes narrowing at the woman. He readied himself before saying "Ready for round two?"

Salem shook her head. " **No… I've seen enough.** " She said before a portal of red and black energy appeared behind her. " **Congratulations. You have earned my interest. As such, I will allow you to live a little longer.** " She finished.

With that, Salem stepped through the portal, disappearing, as well as the portal soon after. Xehanort made no attempt to stop her, as he was simply curious about the woman's power.

"The ability to control the Grimm and can use dark energy… it seems I found the threat that Zara was speaking of." He said.

He looked back towards the edge of the cliff, seeing how it would be dusk soon. Xehanort didn't care, however, as he turned back into the woods and went on the hunt for more Grimm to slay.

His interest peaked, Xehanort resolved to keep his agreement. He would defend this light that the deity spoke of. Until then… he heard his prey howling for him.

 **Alright, ladies and gents, that's it for the time being with this story. What do you think? I know it seems a little odd making Xehanort a protagonist, but it's something that I wanted to try for a while. We all saw Xehanort appearing time and again as the bad guy, but we never got to see much of him as a good guy. It's something I always pondered on. Sadly, with KH3 being the last game in the Xehanort Saga, I guess we won't see a prequel that sees his fall from grace.**

 **And in case anyone asks, Xehanort won't be strictly on anyone's side. He may decide to help some people out, but, like with saving Summer because of her power, he will only work with others if it's in his interest or if it's to achieve his own goals. Guess both Ozpin AND Salem need to watch their backs.**

 **Nevertheless, this was certainly another interesting tale to write, and I hope I can keep it up. But for now, I'll see you all later. Don't forget to review.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi, me again. Hope all's well with yourselves. As you can see, I'm still going with this story.**

 **Before we get into it I just wanted to say a REALLY big thank you. I'm glad to see that so many of you like the story so far, I was genuinely touched by it. To be honest, I wasn't sure if having Xehanort as a protagonist would be anyone's cup to tea, so to speak. Once again, glad to see that's your enjoying it so far. If you have anything to want to say or inquire about, feel free to ask.**

 **Right, without further ado, let's get into the next chapter.**

"Is this all you have to offer?"

Hidden by a long shadow, a young man was sitting on a large rock, observing a group of Ursa that had tried to ambush him. As they all surrounded him, he himself could smell the fear coming off of them.

This particular group found themselves afraid of the man as he proved to be more dangerous than they originally assumed. Normally, humans were easy pickings for them. Even a skilled Huntsman of Huntress could be overwhelmed by large packs. However, this lone warrior, as he was walking along the quiet road, had somehow sensed them long before they found him.

Deciding to strike as soon as possible, they had charged at him, only for him to proceed to dwindle their numbers in seconds. Needless to say, even the mindless Grimm could tell that they were outmatched. They ran back into their territory, thinking they managed to escape.

They were proven wrong, in the end, as they found him sitting in the center of their home on a rock, carrying something rather different to the oddly shaped sword he was wielding before to cut down their brethren.

"I must admit…" the man started before throwing the object to the Ursas feet, revealing it to be a decapitated Ursa head. "I was rather disappointed."

Xehanort clicked his fingers and a sphere of silver energy coated the head, along with a small clock appearing right over the head. As it did, the head proceeded to continue with its natural course and fade away into nothing. He looked back at the living Ursa, seeing how his trick of using his 'Stop' spell to stop the head from fading right away worked.

After being given a strong reminder of how easily they were cut down, the remaining Ursa began to back away, hoping to make a quick escape. Xehanort saw this. As they tried to move away, Xehanort vanished and appeared right behind the first of them to back away, impaling his Keyblade in i's heart.

"Too slow." He commented as he tore his weapon of choice out of the monster.

As it faded, the remaining Ursa saw that there was no escape. So, instead, they roared and charged at him, left with no choice but to stand their ground.

At this, Xehanort smiled menacingly and tightened his grip, charging the Keyblade with dark energy.

"If you insist." He said, his voice laced with venom.

…..

"Thank you. Thank you so much."

In a bar of a small village, not too far away from where Xehanort slaughtered the Ursa, the owner of the establishment was handing Xehanort a stack of green cards. The first time Xehanort saw those, he was surprised that there wasn't a world that didn't use munny. It was just as well that he didn't have any on him, if that was the case.

Although… one couldn't help but imagine what would happen if someone tried to pay a moogle with one of these.

Xehanort nodded to the bartender and took the currency. He stared at it curiously for a brief second before putting almost all of it into his pocket, leaving one out to pay for a drink.

The bartender shook his head. "No way, sir. After what you did, the drinks for you are on the house."

Xehanort smirked. "Perhaps just the first one. After all, I doubt it would be fair on your other patrons." He said, tilting his head towards a table, which sat a group of men who seemed to have had a little too much to drink. "However, if you're feeling so generous, there is one thing I need if you have it."

The bartender looked at him curiously. "What would that be?"

"Information." The Keyblade Master stated. "Have the Grimm been causing you much difficulty before today?"

Bewildered, the bartender answered "Uh, well, I don't think so. This only started to happen last week. To be honest, if you didn't show up, we would've been goners."

Xehanort shook his head. "Don't you have a proper communications system?"

"We did… before the Grimm took it out." the bartender replied.

Shaking his head once more, Xehanort pulled out the lien that he was paid and slammed it on the table. The bartender, seeing this, tried to stop him, only for his throat to fail him after seeing a dark, threatening look in Xehanort's eyes. It quickly faded however, with Xehanort now wearing a calm expression on his face and a small smile.

"Before you refuse, think of it as a rather large tip. You seem to be in more need of it than I." Xehanort said before standing up and walking out of the bar. As he passed through the doors, The bartender looked back at the stack of lien. As he was about to pick it up, he noticed that the stack seemed a bit larger than what he gave the warrior. Taking one of the cards, his eyes widened when he saw the number on it. He looked back at the door, only to see that he was gone.

"Who was that guy?" he muttered to himself.

….

Xehanort was resting in on the branch of a rather tall tree, staring at the sky, watching the clouds float by. So far, his search for Salem had not been going well. Despite himself, he had spent the better part of five months trying to find the woman.

However, his search was proving to be in vain every time he looked. It seemed that after their first encounter, the witch wasn't in favor of the idea of facing the Keyblade Master. As such she had gone into hiding in whatever lair she had built for herself. As such, Xehanort had traveled all across Remnant during his time, visiting the countries like Vacuo, which proved to be the most… uncultured area out of the lot.

Atlas was the most surprising to Xehanort. Having grown up in an area with little to no technology, he was startled after seeing how advanced it was. He did, however, note with a hint of disappointment at the lack of nature being concerned for. The Keyblade Master may have had little care for the life of people, but he held respect for the natural world.

He once saw an announcement video from the head of a company known as the 'Schnee Dust Company', a business focused on the collection and refinement of crystallized natural energy known as Dust, which was the main weapon against the Grimm and acted as the main power source for their technology. Xehanort could tell, however, that the head was only concerned about making a profit rather than focusing on the development of the world, seeing a dark glint in his eyes that suggested greed.

Mistral was another interesting case. A city with multiple floors, from the poorest at the bottom to the more prosperous at the top. Xehanort smirked at the unusual hierarchy system, but wasn't against it as it proved to hold numerous thieves and brutes at the bottom at proved to be easy to use as training dummies to keep his skills sharp.

Then there was Vale. While it wasn't quite as advanced as Atlas, Xehanort found it to be the one with the most charm. It was the country that he had first awoken in, and where he had spent the majority of his time. In fact, it was there that he had built up a personal fortune, carrying out numerous jobs, mainly highly dangerous ones where the risk was too great, but the payload was high.

As such, Xehanort was able to leave that little bit extra in the bar without making a dent in his savings.

Xehanort didn't make such a hefty investment out of the kindness of his heart, however. One of the things he liked about the CCT communication network and their communication towers was that they were far too easy to infiltrate. As such, it was a simple task to enter and harvest as much information as he could about anything of interest.

Out of all the information about this world he had collected, there only some of it which he found of interest. One of these facts was 'Aura', the physical manifestation of a person's soul, acting as a shield, improving their battle prowess and the effectiveness of their weapons against Grimm, as each were also a conduit for Aura. After one unlocked their Aura, they could unlock what's known as a 'Semblance', a unique ability that can aid them in battle which represented the kind of person they were.

Xehanort had originally considered unlocking his own Aura, providing him an extra ability that he could use. However, in the end, he decided against it, knowing that with his power it would be obsolete.

Magic, as he found, was said to be non-existent in this world, with only Aura to act as the next best thing. Xehanort scoffed at that piece of information, as he came face to face with a particular dark form of magic in terms of the ghost-like witch.

" _More than likely, its existence was removed from public knowledge. I'd wager that someone didn't want anyone knowing about it… such a shame._ " Xehanort thought, wishing he could've gone up against others with such power.

Deciding he had rested enough, he decided to move on and continue on with his search. He jumped off of the branch and landed with a roll. He placed his hands in his pockets and walked along the main path. As he walked he thought back over the various fights he was in. his eyes rolled as he recalled most of his fights… if you could call them fights. To him, anyone who challenged him couldn't last two seconds against him.

He often joked to himself to he was spoiled rotten after going up against the guardians of light. They were the only ones who could put up a proper fight.

Xehanort then stopped in his tracks. Images of a certain, spiky-haired Keyblade wielder. That dull, ordinary boy becoming one unlike any he had seen before. The same boy that brought down his downfall. The one that proved to be the most powerful of all. As such, while Xehanort wouldn't change his stance on the darkness, he gained a slight sliver of respect for the light, seeing how powerful it can truly be.

Shaking his head, trying to put those memories in the back of his mind for now, Xehanort continued to walk on. There would be plenty of time to concern himself with that boy after he fulfilled his obligations here.

…

"Amber. Can you come down and help me, honey?"

"Coming!"

In a small cottage, which also had a barn and field nearby, implying that it was a farming area, a woman in her late thirties was preparing breakfast. She had long brown hair that reached down as far as her waist, with bangs framing her face, green eyes and tanned skin. She wore a white t-shirt, tracksuit pants and a pair of fluffy slippers.

Racing down the stairs was a young girl, perhaps around 14 years of age with tanned skin, mid-length brown hair and brown eyes. She was wearing a night gown and her hair was a bit untidy, but she certainly looked full of life when the scent of pancakes and maple syrup filled her nostrils.

"Alright! Pancakes!" the girl said as she rushed over to the table. Fixing her hair quickly, she sat down and pulled up towards the table. She looked up at the woman, who was most certainly her mother. "Thanks Mom."

The girl's mother smiled. "No problem, honey." She said.

The mother pulled in beside her daughter and, before eating, joined their hands together and said a quick prayer in thanks. When they were finished. They helped themselves to some of the significantly large stack of the breakfast treat. As they ate, the girl looked at her mother.

"Mom?"

The mother, who seemed to be in a light daze, was knocked out of it after hearing her daughter speaking. "Y-Yes, Amber?"

"Are you okay?" the girl, now known as Amber, asked.

Amber's mother was silent before answering. She let out a small sigh before saying "I don't know."

Amber's concern for her mother was increased. Recently, Amber's uncle, her mother's brother, had passed away recently. He hadn't been a fortunate man. He had been diagnosed with a terminal illness that was taking its sweet time in taking his life. Nevertheless, he did his best to enjoy the time he had left. However, much to the pain of Amber and her parents, he suffered a heart attack that took away the remainder of his time. They had prepared themselves for the death via his illness, but the suddenness of the heart attack took a strong toll on them, especially Amber's mother who had been crying uncontrollably from the pain.

She had managed to calm down, but it was clear to Amber and her father that the wounds wouldn't be fading any time soon.

Amber looked back at her breakfast and continued to eat. She wasn't sure about how to help her with her pain. Before she could think of anything, however, they heard someone waling in through the door. Both women turned to see a man in his later thirties with brown hair, fair skin and blue eyes inter the house, a dirtied blue button shirt and jeans, a pair of gardening gloves and a straw hat.

"Morning all." Amber's father said with a cheery demeanor.

"Hey, Dad. You out working." Amber quickly asked, wanting to change topics from what she was about to discuss with her mother.

"Yep. Those chickens weren't going to feed themselves." He said. "Plus those weeds were starting to become a hassle." He added.

He walked over to the table, seeing a smiling Amber and his wife, now smiling, and pulled up a chair and reached for one of the pancakes. As he did, however, another hand snapped out and hit his, causing him to recoil.

"Ow! Carla, what was that for?" he said to his wife.

"John D. Autumn, I will not allow anyone to come into this house and have them sit at this table while they look like that." She said while pointing to his soil-covered clothes.

Instead of trying to come up with an argument, he quickly got up on his feet and held up his hands in surrender.

"Alright! Alright. I'll go up and shower." He said. he quickly looked at Amber and pointed at Carla. "Promise me you'll be a s merciless to whatever boyfriend you bring back in the future. Great way to scare them off." He added before dashing up the stairs.

The last comment made Amber blushed slightly, briefly wishing that she had something to throw at him. Her reaction was noticed by Carla, who let off a slight giggle, making Amber's blush become more intense.

"MOM!" she cried.

Carla calmed herself a bit before speaking. "Sorry, honey. It's just funny to see the way you react when we talk about boys." She said. "Speaking of which, any handsome ones on the horizon?"

Amber's jaws practically dropped from the shock. She then let her head drop onto the table and groaned in embarrassment. Carla was close to bursting from the comical situation that she forgot her troubles for a brief moment. Through the waterfall tears streaming down Amber's eyes, she could see her mother's spirits lifting.

" _I guess my shattered pride is worth seeing my Mom smiling again… but Dad owes me one._ " She thought, already planning on ways to get back at her father for the boyfriend joke.

However, her thoughts and her mother's laughter were interrupted by the sound of a loud roar coming from outside.

"Wha- What was that!?" Amber asked with a hint of fear in her voice.

They heard John rushing down the stairs, turning their heads to see him hurryingly putting on a black shirt and a worried expression on his face.

"We've got Grimm. Carla, the cupboard." He said seriously.

Carla nodded and rushed towards the cupboard beside the main door. She opened it up and pulled out the coats and boots, bashing the back of the cupboard with her foot. When it was broken down, she reached in and pulled out what seemed to be an extremely large crossbow. John, meanwhile, went into the living room and pulled off the carpet, revealing a trap door. He opened it and pulled out a rather large briefcase.

He opened it up to reveal a large array of dust crystals in the shape of crossbow bolts. Carla threw him the crossbow and he caught it with one hand. He quickly loaded a fire dust crystal into the machine and looked back at Carla and Amber.

"Both of you head upstairs and wait until I say it's safe. I'll deal with the Grimm." He said to them.

"What!?" Amber cried. "But Dad, you know that-"

"I know, Amber." John interrupted. "But we can't risk anyone finding out." he said. Seeing the look of worry on her face, he walked up to her and rubbed the top of her head. Smiling he said "Relax. I've had my share of fights before. I'll be fine."

Amber still wasn't convince. Had it been as easy as he said it was, he wouldn't need that crossbow. A weapon he only ever brought to light if the threat was that big. Nevertheless, Amber nodded in agreement. She and Carla went up the stairs and John went up to the window, opened it and pointed to outside, his eyes catching sight of a rather large back of Beowolves.

Taking a deep breath, his hands slightly shaky, he shot with surprisingly perfect aim, shooting one of them in the chest and creating a large, flaming explosion.

….

Xehanort's ears perked at the sound of a large explosion in the distance. He turned his head to where he think her heard the sound, pondering on if whether or not it was worth his time to see what was going on.

"… _I suppose that there's no harm._ " He thought to himself.

With that, he took off with tremendous speed, jumping into the trees and using them as a means f travel, jumping from one to another, finding it more efficient than relying on the roads. This way, he could avoid any unnecessary obstacles in his path.

Eventually, he ran out of trees to use as his path brought him out of the forest, jumping a great distance before landing with a roll. As he got back onto his feet, he looked up, coming face to face with a Beowolf.

"… How unfortunate for you." He said before landing an uppercut into its jaw with a fist charged with dark energy, obliterating its head and sending what's left flying into the air as it faded away.

He looked around him, seeing three more Beowolves surrounding him and looking ready to tear him limb from limb. In response, Xehanort slowly lowered himself to the ground, gently laying his fingers to the ground. With a slight smirk, he whispered "Freeze."

The ground he was standing on was instantly frozen, reaching as far as the Beowolves. Much to their surprise, the ice began to travel up their bodies. Within seconds, they were encased in ice, despite their best efforts to escape. To finish them off, Xehanort swung his Keyblade in a wide circle, unleashing a wave of dark energy and shattered them all into pieces.

Xehanort looked at the fading pieces of frozen Grimm before focusing back on the source of the explosion. He looked and saw that he was on the edge of a cliff, which overlooked a small farm that seemed overrun with Beowolves. However, Xehanort did take more notice a large crater not too far away from the house, which also seemed to suffer some damage from the explosion. Shattered windows, the walls covered with deep scratches and the door was in pieces.

Out of the damaged door barged through a man in a black t-shirt. He had a serious and angered expression on his face, which made Xehanort how he planed to proceed with that extremely large crossbow.

As the Beowolves charge towards him, he swung the weapon around, beating them with the arms of the bow, while using the sharpened ends of them to stab or hook onto them as he swung them around with great force. Freeing one Beowolf from the weapon's spike, he quickly loaded what seemed to be a blue crystal into the weapon.

Xehanort noted in approval that the fighter aimed the weapon directly at the ground as he backed away. Knowing what the fighter was planning on doing, the Keyblade Master folded his arms and looked on in interest. The fighter shot off the bolt and watched as the ice energy was released and zoomed ahead, creating a large stream of ice that seemed to spread the further it went, trapping numerous Grimm in the process.

" _Well… as I live and breathe. Someone who actually uses his_ head _in a fight._ " He thought, thinking back to his time in Vacuo and how the bandits living there proved to make the Grimm look like geniuses in comparison.

Xehanort, suddenly lowering his brow, noticed something. His eyes caught the sight of another Beowolf climbing up from behind the house, howling as it embedded its claws into the roof. In response, Xehanort heard the sound of a couple of women screaming from within. The male fighter down below seemed to have heard the screams as well, turning back and looking at the house him horror.

"CARLA! AMBER!" he cried in fear.

That one second of distraction was all that it took. One of the Beowolves dashed up to him and swiped its claws at him, striking him in the hip and slicing through him. As he grunted in pain, Xehanort widened his eyes in surprise. From the way he fought, Xehanort expected him to be an expert Huntsman, which proved to be better fighters than he expected, but still not as strong as he would've liked. However, it seemed that he hadn't unlocked his Aura yet.

As he fell to the ground, the blood seeping from his wound caught the Beowolves noses, seeming to salivate from the scent. The fighter tried to load another crystal, but the one that wounded him swiped the crossbow out of his grasped. It roared at him, trying to strike fear in the apparent warrior.

However, he showed no trace of fear in his face as he stared back into the glowing eyes of the Grimm.

"Quite the entertainment." Xehanort said out loud, knowing that not many had the courage to stare death straight in the eye. Deciding that he had seen enough, he turned around and decided to leave the man for dead, believing that he wasn't worth Xehanort's time. That is until he felt an unusual feeling travel through his body. As this happened, he instinctively looked back at the house… and the bright light that was escaping from with houses openings.

Xehanort looked on with a dark look in his eyes. "What have we here?"

….

Amber watched in horror as her father was wounded by the Grimm and he collapsed onto the ground. Her hands went to her mouth, her eyes widened as an array of emotions flowed through her. Anger, sadness, fear, pain, worry.

As these emotions grew stronger, she didn't notice as the Beowolf digging through the roof was starting to get through. Carla, who had only a broom in defence, stood her ground and glared angrily at the monster, determined not to let the beast harm her baby girl.

"You get away from here you animal." She said in a cold tone.

As she did, the Beowolf broke through and charged at her, pinning her to the ground. Amber turned around to see the monster on her with its claws about to finish her off.

At this, Amber snapped.

"NOOOO **OOOOOOO!** "

The edges of her eyes glowed, forming a type of mask as an Aura suddenly built up around her. It shun brightly enough to cover the entire room with the brilliant light. She pointed her arms at the Beowolf, its attention now focused on Amber as a great level of power was radiating off of her, and fired a powerful gust of wind that blasted the Grimm out of the house, destroying the top floor of the house in the process, and shredding the Grimm to pieces.

Now freed, she turned onto her stomach and saw Amber, her eyes widening at her and the sudden display of power.

"A… Amber?" Carla asked.

Amber didn't respond. Instead, she looked outside the window and glared at the Beowolves outside. Standing onto her feet, she aimed her right arm at one of the Grimm outside and shot a fireball, destroying another part of the house and struck the Grimm in question, sending it flying it back and howling in pain.

"LEAVE MY DAD ALONE!" she cried. She then jumped out of the window, creating a small tornado that slowed her landing speed. The tornado noticeably caused damage to anything it came across. When Amber landed, she ran up to her father, checking the wound. She looked worried when she saw how deep it was.

"Amber? I thought we agreed-"

"I know." Amber interrupted. "But I couldn't let you or Mom get hurt." She said. she looked back at the Grimm, seeing them slowly backing away after the rather visual display of her power. Seeing their confidence fall, Amber stood up and summoned two more fireballs in her hand, the energy around her eyes glowing with greater intensity. "I'm going to teach you guys a lesson you'll _never_ forget." She said with a calm tone.

As she readied herself to launch an attack, Amber felt the energy she had drain from her body. The fires faded and the light around her eyes faded away. She collapsed to the ground, looking half conscious.

"What… what's going…" she managed to say. Shaking her head, she looked back up, seeing that the Grimm have stopped moving backwards. After what seemed like an eternity of silence, The Grimm started to move towards them, seeing that Amber was weakened.

"Amber…"

The girl turned around to see John doing his best to drag himself over to her. After managing to reach her, John relaxed and started to breathe heavily. Amber woke up after seeing that her father wasn't doing well.

"No… no, no, no…" Amber said, tears welling up in eyes before covering her mouth with her hand.

John chuckled lightly. "I didn't think that things would get this bad. Kinda funny when you think of it."

Amber hugged her father, not caring that the blood was seeping into her clothes. With a loud roar, the Beowolves charged at them, their claws extended and ready to finish off their prey.

"THUNDER!"

In an instant, the Beowolves closest to Amber and John were struck with sudden bolts of purple lightning raining from the sky. The creatures collapsed to the ground, only able to Spasm as the lightning coursed through their body. Followed by the creatures faded away.

Amber and John both saw this with widened eyes. John looked over at Amber and asked "Was… that you?"

"Heal."

Jon glowed with a bright, green energy, which was more so concentrated on his wound. In seconds, the wound was healed. John put a hand over where he was hurt, amazed at how the wound was gone. Before he quick say anything, a figure suddenly appeared before the two. A Boy with silver hair carrying an oddly shaped sword.

"You both seemed to be quite skilled." Xehanort said to them while holding out his Keyblade at the Beowolves. "Allow me to finish them for you."

The Beowolves charged over at Xehanort. The Keyblade master grinned malevolently at them before coating himself in dark energy, quickly dashing around the field, slicing each Beowlof he met in two as swiftly as he moved.

By the time he was finished, the ground was littered with fading Grimm parts, leaving only a smug-looking Xehanort with his Keyblade outstretched and shocked looking Amber and John. Xehanort lowered the weapon and dismissed it soon after, turning around to meet the awed faces of the father and daughter.

"A pleasure to meet you both." He quipped.

….

After the battle with the Beowolves, Xehanort was invited into their house, or what was left of it, for something to drink. After Xehanort was given a cup of tea, he was met with silence from the family. Seemingly, they were shook after being attacked by a back of Beowolves.

Xehanort quirked an eyebrow at the idea. Not because it sounded ridiculous, but more so due to the fact that this wasn't the first time this had happened, remembering Summer Rose's near-death experience. Through his infiltration of the CCT towers, he knew that Beowolves wouldn't normally attack such large packs. These were the equivalent of armies.

" _I think I've an idea as to what… or who had caused these._ " The Keyblade Master thought. His eyes slowly moved towards Amber, narrowing as he remembered her power. " _And why._ "

Amber was the first to break the silence, standing up and giving Xehanort a formal bow. "Thank you. Thank you so much for helping me and my family." She said. "If there's anything we can do-"

"You can start by telling me about that power of yours." Xehanort stated.

At this, Amber froze, looking a little nervous. As she tried to come up with an excuse, Xehanort lowered his brow at her. After a second, a slight smile formed on his face.

"Afraid that I'll go around blabbing about a girl who could shoot fire and summon tornadoes?" he asked sarcastically. "I doubt it would be any believable than a boy who could summon thunder from the sky or heal a man with a simple word."

Amber's eyes widened. "You… you _did_ heal my dad." She said.

Xehanort held his arms out and shrugged his shoulders. "Guilty as charged." He quipped.

"How did you do that?" Carla asked, now seemingly irate after what had happened.

Xehanort looked over at Carla. "To answer your question, if I am correct in saying, my abilities are of a similar nature to your daughters." He said. he held up his right hand and coated his hand in a thin layer of dark aura. "However… mine has a darker form than hers."

He clenched his hand, dispersing the dark energy. Amber had looked at the dark aura with slight hand before looking back directly at Xehanort.

"You… can use magic?" she asked.

"Correct." He noted. "Something I had been in training to use for as long as I could remember. Much of what I know is from self-directed learning. My master wasn't fond of the type of power I desired, so I took matters into my own hands." He said. he tilted his head to one side. "And you?"

"Out of the question." John quickly added, not wanting to reveal anything. Because of this, he was met with a sharp and narrow glare from the Keyblade Master.

Xehanort removed his attention from the father and focused on Amber. "I can see that you don't wish for many to know what you are capable of." He said. After a few seconds, he sighed. "Very well. I won't divulge, for now at least."

Carla looked a little releaved after hearing that, John's expression didn't change, but Amber looked on in confusion.

"That's it? Just like that?" Amber asked.

Xehanort chuckled briefly. "No, Miss Autumn." He started, having gotten the names of the family earlier on. "I would like to make an offer."

John looked at Xehanort with far more suspicion than before. "What kind of offer."

"Judging by the way Amber used her powers, she has little to no experience and uses too much in one go." He started. "Had I not been there, chances are you would've all been slaughtered by those mindless beasts, despite her best, albeit sloppy attempts at using magic."

John and Carla looked at Xehanort angrily, while Amber looked surprised at first before pouting in annoyance.

"Hey! You don't have to be so mean!" she exclaimed.

"Would you rather I lie, despite the wreckage of your house acting as proof as your lack of control?" he noted.

At this, Amber couldn't think of a suitable retort. Instead, she asked "So what? You going to show me how to use it properly or something?"

At that, Xehanort nodded. "It seems that you have a brain cell in that head of yours after all."

Amber's eyes widened. "Wait. Your actually going to teach me how to use magic?" she asked in slight disbelief.

"I take back what I said about the brain cell." Xehanort said with slight disgust. "However, there's no point I you having that power if you don't even know how to use it. Chances are you'd hurt someone you care about before defeating a Grimm." He pointed out harshly.

"How DARE YOU!" Carla cried out, now on the verge of tearing the boy to shreds. "Don't you DARE-"

"I speak my mind where I choose, Mrs. Autumn." Xehanort said in an ice-cold tone. "Don't think that the Grimm will be any more merciful."

It was then that the two glared at each other. Amber and John saw the growing between them, predicting that it was going to lead to something incredibly unpleasant. Amber put her head between the two and put on a large smile.

"Ooookay. Let's all take five for a bit." She suggested. She then looked over at Xehanort. "Look, um… Xehanort. If it's alright, can you at least watch what you say? It's not, well, nice."

"Be that as it may." Xehanort started. "You still need to learn how to use your magic properly. And I seem to be the one with the most experience in the art."

Amber's eyes lit up for a moment, thinking that she would get to learn about magic from a real life expert. However, she quickly looked crestfallen when a thought occurred to her. Slumping her shoulders, she asked "Okay, what's the catch?"

Xehanort smirked. "Tell me of the origins of your powers." He answered, causing the family to stiffen at the sound of that request.

Xehanort had been around most of the areas in Remnant, having gone up against various Grimm, bandits, even the occasional Huntsman that was unfortunate enough to cross his path. Magic, however, was something he had yet to see. While already having suspected that it might exist, he was surprised to see the level of power radiating from the girl.

At this point, it didn't matter if or how he could put it to his own use, Xehanort needed to know where such a vast source of power originated.

Amber looked a little nervous as she thought about Xehanort's request. After a few seconds she replied to him. "I think… I can tell you what you want to know."

John looked over at her like she had two heads. "Amber, are you sure?" he asked, knowing that it was Amber who wanted to keep the power a secret in the first place.

Amber nodded to her father before looking back at Xehanort. "But… I want another thing from you. That kind of information is too valuable for just what you're offering."

Xehanort raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And what's that?"

Amber leaned up against the table and looked at him with a serious expression. "Teach me how to fight." She said. "Not just with magic. Actual fighting."

"And what would encourage you to learn how to fight, Miss Autumn?"

"Because I want to become a Huntress." Amber answered him. "All I've wanted to do, ever since I was little, was to do something where I could help people. I chose being a Huntress because they're the ones on the front line when it comes to fighting Grimm, risking their lives to keep everyone safe. But there still aren't enough, and people are still getting hurt, whether it be from Grimm or criminals. I… I can't just sit by and do nothing."

"So you're going to do your part in protecting the people of Remnant." Xehanort stated, to which Amber nodded. He had to admit, the girl had a drive in her that she hadn't seen in many people. It made him curious as to what she could really do, with the right resources.

Taking some time to think, he soon said "Very well, Miss Autumn. You want to learn how to fight, I will teach you."

Carla looked back and forth between Xehanort and Amber, confused and worried by the current situation. Seeing this Xehanort looked back at her and said "I will not apologise for what I said earlier, but I will be tamer when I say my piece. If it's of any benefit to you."

John looked at Xehanort with a small grin. "If you don't plan on causing us any trouble, then you're alright in my book."

"Try to be more cautious with people you meet, Mr. Autumn." Xehanort said back to him.

Xehanort looked back at Amber with a blank expression. Well… Amber. If your'e still up for it, then it seems that I'm you're new teacher." He then made a very feint smirk. "Scared?"

Amber gave Xehanort a look of determination. "Bring. It. On."

 _(Two weeks later)_

"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!?"

Xehanort was resting passively on a nearby rock, admiring the clear, blue sky. Amber, on the other hand, was resting her hands on her knees as she was trying desperately to get her breathing under control. Xehanort and Amber were after finishing a running session; Xehanort had decided against choosing a distance and opted just to have the two run until one of them tired out. Seemingly, Amber had tired out first.

Xehanort turned away from the sky, a smug look on his face as he saw Amber's state. "Run out of energy already?"

Amber looked at him with a disgruntled expression. "Why exactly… do we need… to run seven marathons in one day?" she asked in between pants.

Xehanort raised an eyebrow. "Surely, as a Huntress in training, you would need to have impeccable endurance. And I assumed that you'd rather this than endure being beaten with a wooden plank."

At this, Amber looked gobsmacked at him. "WHAT!?"

"I'm not joking. That's how ninjas toughened their skin, practically necessary since they couldn't use armor." He explained.

Amber breathed heavily a few more times before standing up straight and placing their hands on her hips. "I guess the running doesn't sound so bad in comparison."

"Glad we're in agreement." Xehanort quipped. Soon after, he looked back up at the sky, seemingly lost in the vast array of blue.

Amber saw this, looking up curiously at the sky, wondering what was so interesting in there.

"Something catch your eye?" she asked.

Xehanort didn't answer immediately, instead still focusing on the sky for a little longer. Not taking his eyes off the sky, he answered Amber. "Not at this time." He said, confusing Amber. Seeing this, he continued. "It's more so to do with the stars hiding under that light blue layer."

"The stars?" Amber asked, more confused than before.

Xehanort nodded. "Have you ever wondered how many there are? What each one may represent?"

Amber, not taking her gaze away from the sky, now looked curious at her trainer's words. "You mean, like, what each mean?"

"… My master… once told me that each star represents another world. Each one a land filled with potential discovery… knowledge beyond our years… isn't it interesting?"

Amber then looked at Xehanort with a raised eyebrow. "You really like the opportunity to learn new things, don't you?"

Xehanort let off a slight snort at the comment. "True, I have quite a fondness for learning new things." He started. He looked back at Amber. "In the end… that was my greatest downfall."

"Huh?" Amber said, not having heard Xehanort for that last part. "What did you say?"

"Nothing important." He said, taking a few steps away from Amber and turning around swiftly. "Now. Let's get on with the real work out." he said, summoning his Keyblade and taking up his battle stance.

Amber had a gobsmacked expression on her face again as she heard that. Pointing back to the trail they were running, she said "THAT WASN'T THE WARM UP!?"

Xehanort grinned, an dark aura forming around him. "Too much for you?" he asked.

Amber was silent for a moment. She broke it after taking up her own battle stance, charging her fists with magical energy. Grinning at the Keyblade Master, she simply said "Bring it."

 **Alright, ladies and gent's, we're going to leave it at that for the time being. Looks like Xehanort's after taking Amber under his wing; will that prove to be a good thing or a bad thing for the Fall Maiden? I guess we'll find out in alter chapters.**

 **Right, before I finish up entirely-**

 **-eventyraren: The chapter has finally arrived, hope you liked it.**

 **-Guest No.2: Glad you like it, wasn't sure if anyone would at first, to be honest.**

 **-VermilionC4: You're not too far off, actually, with what I have planned. Can't say which one I'm going for though, sorry.**

 **-Guest: Heartless? Definitely considering it. Not sure about the Nobodies, though, best not to get your hopes up with them.**

 **-GuestWithIdeas: Thanks very much for all those points. Also, thanks for telling me about the Celtic Phoenix Productions, helped clear up a number of things about the show. I also thought it was funny at the start of the first episode when he didn't look happy about having to explain the whole lot. He didn't seemed pleased at all, did he?**

 **LordofBones: True, we didn't see her use any powers in the series so far, but you never know, she may be hiding a fair number of tricks up her sleeve, which I look forward to seeing. Besides, I already have plans to make her the Salem we** _ **should've**_ **gotten.**

 **Raximus: Thanks. Although, I should let you know, he won't be focusing on his desire on his Keyblade War vendetta for the time being…at least until he's fulfilled his promise to Zara anyway. (SFX: Gulp)**

 **Ultima-owner: Yep, that's pretty much it for now. But you never know, he could change.**

 **Just wanted to respond to your queries before signing off. Hope you don't mind. Right, with that said, I think I'll leave it at that. Feel free to voice your thoughts on this chapter, what you liked, didn't like, etc. I always enjoy hearing your thoughts. See you all later.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi everyone. Hope you're all well. Before we get into the story, just want to say thanks for all the reviews and ideas you've been giving me. All of it is both well appreciated and, to be honest, pretty cool. Also, I'm glad to see that you're all enjoying the story so far, as such, I will continue to write this story to my best effort.**

 **Right, I can't think of anything else to say at this point of time, so I'll just shut up and let you read the story. Enjoy.**

"You are DEAD MEAT!"

Amber rushed at Xehanort with all her strength, thrusting the sharp end point of her staff directly at her trainer. As she did, the silver haired Keyblade Master stood calmly and passively, as if he was enjoying some sights in a nature walk and unaware of the trainee's oncoming attack.

At the last second, Xehanort quickly ducked under the staff, looking back up at Amber with a smug expression on his face. He shot up is hand, grabbed the staff and swung it over his head, intentionally bringing Amber with it as she flew up into the air.

"You should learn not to be so cocky in a fight, Autumn." Xehanort commented.

As the Huntress in training flew up into the air, she spun herself around and looked down at Xehanort.

"Speak for yourself!" she exclaimed as she readied herself.

She pointed the top half of the staff opposite from where she was facing. As she did, a red crystal that was on the top began to radiate light and heat. A split second later, the crystal exploded, creating a blast that rocketed Amber back towards Xehanort.

As Amber readied herself to strike Xehanort, the Keyblade Master crouched down, his gaze not leaving the young woman who was about to strike him with the force of a Behemoth Heartless' foot. As Amber was about to land the below, Xehanort spun around and kicked the staff away, knocking it out of the Fall Maiden's grasp, using the momentum to spin around and land another kick into her stomach, sending her flying back and landing on her back with an audible thud.

As she was about to get up, Xehanort dashed up and thrusted his fist at her face, stopping only half an inch away from her face. The sudden attack surprised the Fall Maiden, not allowing her any time to react. As she stared wide-eyed at the fist, Xehanort glared at her.

"You let your emotions get in the way again." He stated, slowly pulling back his fist. "How many times must I tell you that you can't let them dictate how you fight?"

Amber looked up at Xehanort with a nervous smile. "Uh… I think we lost count with the number already." She said, which only added to Xehanort's irritation.

Instead of letting his frustration get the better of him, however, he sat on the ground and crossed his legs, opting to meditate and clear his head. "Despite that, you are definitely showing great signs of improvement." He stated. "At least you're not stabbing yourself in the foot."

At that, Amber lowered her brow and pouted. "I only did that _one_ time and you know it!" she said, a little offended.

"One time is all it can take for you to lose your life in battle." Xehanort pointed out sternly.

After that, Amber decided to stay silent. While she still felt like Xehanort was being a bit too harsh, at this stage she knew that arguing with him would only lead to a long… _long_ night of talking, leading to Amber eventually giving up in exasperation.

This she learned within the five years that Xehanort had been training her. If she had to be honest, it was some of the most difficult times of her life, but it was most certainly the most interesting as well.

Her father certainly didn't mind having him around, since he helped to repair the damage around the house after the Grimm attack and provided the funds for some new equipment for the farm. That didn't fully earn his trust, but what did was when Xehanort gave his word to keep his daughter safe while he was training her.

Granted, her mother was still a little skeptical about the silver haired teen, but over time she learned to trust him a little more. However, that still didn't mean that she would be letting her guard down around him for a second.

Amber sat in silence, thinking back to the previous training sessions. In each one, Xehanort didn't hold back, giving her some of the most excruciating tasks and duels one could ever come across, and then some. At least, physically, it was this difficult for her combat training.

Xehanort took a different approach when teaching her magic. Instead of using combat-related methods, Xehanort took a more spiritual side to it, focusing on her control over the ability. This was because her power was unquestionably strong already, which Xehanort saw first-hand five years ago, but unless she was able to focus it and control it, it would only prove to be a danger to herself and others.

She thought Xehanort was exaggerating at first, until one time during those sessions when she, herself, was meditating and accidentally set off a burst of flames that nearly destroyed the nearby forest. Needless to say, the Keyblade master wasn't pleased, having made her run an equivalent to ten marathons.

Amber was thankful that she had her aura to give her the extra endurance, or she reckoned that the training would've killed her ten-times over.

After a brief moment of silence, Xehanort finished his meditation and stood up on his feet, stretching his arms as he did so.

"That aside, you did well. Hence, I suggest that we head over to Vale for something to eat." The Keyblade Master said. "Any objections?"

Amber raised an eyebrow. "Really? What's the occasion?" she asked, knowing that Xehanort chooses to make his own food, rarely agreeing to eat out.

"You mean aside from what I just said?" Xehanort asked, with a sarcastic tone in his voice. As he saw Amber blush, he let out a small chuckle, a sliver of a smile forming on his face. "Let's just say that we both have something of interest there."

Amber was confused by the statement, not sure about what Xehanort was about. The Keyblade Master raised an eyebrow at his student.

"So? Vale, then?" he asked.

At this, Amber smirked. "Sound's good to me."

….

"Oh, Hey Amber. Hey Xehanort." John said as the people in question walked into the house.

"Hey Dad." Amber said, quickly skipping over to her father and kissing him on the cheek before making her way over to the stairs.

John looked a bit confused, seeing his daughter skipping around the house like that. He looked back at Xehanort.

"What was that about?" he asked.

"I suggested that we head over to Vale for a break from the training." Xehanort explained. "Anything you need from there?"

John shook his head. "Nah, I'm good. But I think that Carla was looking for a new frying pan, if you can remember."

Xehanort nodded. "I'll remember that." he said. He looked around, noticing that Carla wasn't present in the house. "Where is Carla, actually?"

"Ah, she decided to have a walk down the lane. Now that the Beowolves have been scared off, she likes to get a bit of fresh are every now and then." John explained.

"Fair enough." Xehanort said.

John looked at Xehanort for a moment. In the time that he had been training Amber, he himself had not been entirely immune to change… which John thought, honestly, wouldn't be possible. Xehanort now wore a slim-fit, black, long-sleeved shirt that had white linings along the end of the sleeves and the zip-up collar. He also wore a pair of faded jeans, combat boots and a black belt that had a buckle the shape of the eye on his Keyblade.

In reality, he would've preferred his original clothes. But they were damaged a couple of years ago during one of the training sessions, not because of Amber, but due to having to fight against some Ursa Majors, where he put too much power into a fire spell, burning and tattering his gear. Xehanort didn't mind that much in the end, so long as he had something to move around in easily.

"So, what do you plan on doing there?" he asked the Keyblade Master.

"Amber spoke of wanting to see a new clothing store that opened up a couple of days ago. As well as a new… either a restaurant or Café."

"Oh yeah! 'The sandwich steakhouse', that place does a lot of nice food." John said, now starting to think that he might just join them.

"Dad, no! you are not coming with us."

Both Xehanort and John turned their heads to see Amber walking down the stairs, now wearing a light green blouse, beige shorts and sandals. AS she came down the stairs, she looked at Xehanort. After a few seconds, she crossed her arms and looked at him accusingly.

"So, that's the stuff that you were talking about, huh?" Amber asked, to which Xehanort nodded in agreement. Internally, she was surprised. Naturally, Xehanort didn't completely fill her day with training, but he never found it of any interest to do anything other than train himself or study up on history. Admittedly, she was happy about it.

"Are you really going to go out like that?" she suddenly asked.

Xehanort raised an eyebrow at her. "Come again?"

"It's SUMMER, and you're dressed like you're going to a Goth club! Could you try to be a little more… I don't know, 'Summery'?"

Xehanort rolled his eyes at the comment. Deciding not to get into an argument with her, he put on a white jacket, which had the goat symbol stitched into the right and hung it on the back of John's chair.

"Happy now?" he asked.

Amber nodded her head and smiled in approval. "Knowing you, much better. Now let's go!" she said, already zooming towards the door.

"Hold!" Xehanort suddenly said, causing Amber to stop in her tracks. "Where is your staff?"

Amber smirked at her teacher. Turning to face him, she held out her hand, swift clicking her fingers and materializing the staff in her grasp. John jumped from the sight, while Xehanort nodded.

"Good. It's always important to have your weapon with you. Being able to materialize and dematerialize it makes it vastly easier." He said, happy to see that she managed to store her weapon using her magic. Keyblades and other magical weapons can simply make themselves vanish and reappear at the wielder's command. However, the staff that Amber wielded wasn't in that category, so she needed to learn how to use her own magic to store items.

"I thought we were done with training for the day." Amber pointed out. She then opened the door and motioned for him to go through it. "C'mon, already."

Xehanort sighed. "Impatient, aren't you?" he said before stepping outside.

Amber looked back inside and waved to her father. "See you later Dad." She said before closing the door.

As they left, John leaned back in his chair and looked up at the ceiling. His mind wondered back to when he first met Xehanort. The time when he saved his and his family's lives. He remembered his display of power, how he was able to wipe out the Grimm in an instant.

"Weird…" he said to himself. "He said he learned that stuff from when he was younger… but how did the guy who taught him learn that stuff? Are there others?"

His train of thought was broken when the back door of the house was opened and Carla stepped in yelling "I'M BAAACK!" the sudden surprise caused John to fall off his chair and land in a heap on the ground.

"Oooow…" he said to himself.

….

"Honestly, haven't you had enough, professor?"

In a café in the city of Vale, there were two people currently sitting down for a bite to eat. One was a woman with blond hair that was tied up into a bun, while some strands were still sticking out, fair skin, green eyes and a pair of glasses. She wore a white blouse, black pants, high-heeled shoes and a purple cape, with a riding crop attached to her belt.

The other was a middle aged man who what white, messy hair, brown eyes and a pair of spectacles. He wore a black blazer, pants, dress shoes and wore a green scarf around his neck that was also tucked into his blazer. Beside him laid a walking cane which he always carried around. At the moment, he was enjoying his seventh cup of Hot Cocoa.

He looked at the woman and grinned. "Oh, come now, Glynda. Is there any harm in these little pleasures?" he asked.

"There is when you've had seven of them in a row, Ozpin." The woman known as Glynda pointed out.

The man known as Ozpin continued to sip at his drink, savouring the taste. Seeing how they would be here for another while, Glynda called a waiter and asked for a cup of tea.

"Honestly, professor. One of these days, you're going to make yourself sick from all these… Professor? Professor, are you alright?"

Ozpin had his mug halfway up to his mouth when he stopped abruptly. His facial expression morphed from one of enjoyment to serious in a split second. Gently he placed the mug back on the table, stood up and picked up his cane.

"I'm afraid you won't be getting that tea, Glynda." Ozpin said.

"What is the matter?" Glynda asked, now slightly worried.

Ozpin turned around, scanning the area of the town.

"One of the Maidens… she's here." He said. his eyes then widened slightly, as if surprised by something. "She's not alone either."

Gylnda looked around briefly, hopingthst no one took notice of them. Seeing that they were fine, she stood up and went up to the professor. "Who is with her?"

"… The kind of person I never imagined seeing here again." Ozpin stated after a few seconds of silence.

With that, Ozpin pulled out a couple of Lien cards and placed them on the table, followed by him slowly walking away from the café. Bewildered, Glynda followed him. She was curious as to whom Ozpin was talking about.

…

"WOW! This place is AMAZING!"

Amber's eyes were wide with excitement and anticipation now that she was in the new clothes store. While she wasn't a girly girl like all the other girls in her school, even before Xehanort began to train her, but she always had a weakness for new clothes.

Xehanort, not being into clothes like Amber, took the liberty of visiting the city Library. He told the Fall Maiden that he would meet up with her later, wanting to check up on something while he was here.

Amber didn't care in the slightest, however, as her attention was drawn in by the clothes that were on offer. She dashed from one area to the other, seeing that they had all the works. Shirts, blouses, jackets, even a swimsuit section. Amber couldn't help but feel like a kid in a candy store.

"Oh, hello miss. Can I help you?"

Amber turned around, seeing a shop assistant standing behind her. Said assistant had a slight grin on her face.

"Oh, um… well, I guess since you're here, can you help me find something… I don't know, that'd look nice."

The assisstant's face morphed into a look of smug curiosity. "Oh? Trying to impress someone" she asked.

Amber, knowing what she was talking about, suddenly blushed. As proven by her mother, she wasn't any good when it came to boys. The only form of experience she had with them was Xehanort, and he certainly wasn't the kind of person who gave any thought to the opposite gender… as least, as dar as she knew. He'd preoccupy himself with so much training and studying she could never tell.

"I… There's… it's nothing like that." Amber said.

Giggling at Amber's stutter, she zipped behind her and began pushing her to the nearest changing room. "Oh, looks like that stutterer gave you away, my dear. Don't worry, we'll find something that will have that boy blushing."

Now more afraid of the assistant than worried about boys, she dug her heels into the ground in hopes that the assistant would stop. However, she carried on pushing Amber like there was no resistance. Amber was now sweating rivers at what the woman might do.

" _Oh, this isn't going to end well._ " Amber thought.

…

Over in the main library, Xehanort was sitting at one of the computer terminals, doing some extra research. While he was normally a fan of books, he couldn't deny that these devices were excellent at helping him find up to date information.

At the moment, he was looking over a report written by a local journalist, 'Abbot King', a member of the Faunus community. While his articles were both informative and backed up with valid evidence, he didn't seem to get the credit he was due. This was primarily because his main critic, 'Arthur Winchester', brother of the arms manufacturer John Winchester, had a deep hatred of the Faunus. Because he was a popular writer, anything he wrote, the masses would agree with, including his harsh criticism of other writers, even if they were utter nonsense.

Xehanort, however, admired King's ability, even sending in an anonymous review or two to encourage him to continue with his work.

At the moment, Xehanort was reading an article he had written about a man named 'Dr. Merlot'. He had been a well-respected scientist, majoring in bio-chemistry and mechanics, achieving high honors and praise from all who had heard of him. Yet, recently, it all came crashing down after it was revealed that he performing morally ambiguous experiments that involved enhancing the Grimm and several lives lost, serving as bait or 'rewards' for the Grimm he experimented with.

Xehanort raised an eyebrow after reading about what had happened to the citizens that volunteered to help him… or rather, what had been left of them.

"My word, Merlot." Xehanort said silently. "We're you willing to go that far to gain power?" Xehanort couldn't help but see a reflection of himself in the man, as he recalled all what he had done to try and achieve his goal.

Xehanort slightly shook his head as he grinned in amusement. "Speaking from experience…" he closed the window that he had opened. "You were doomed from the start." Xehanort stood up from the table and made his way over to one of the bookshelves. Drawing his finger along the rows of text, he spotted the book he was looking for.

"Let's see… where… are… ah, there you are." Xehanort muttered under his breath.

As he was about to pull out the book in question, he heard the sound of someone screaming outside. His eyes started turning towards the source, followed by the rest of his head. His vision caught the sight of a little girl, running like her life depended on it. When she was out of view through the door frame, three more figures passed by. Judging by this, the girl _was_ running for her life.

"…" Xehanort raised an eyebrow at this. After taking a moment to consider, he lowered the hand that was reaching for the book. Briskly, he walked out of the library, drawing in the stares of various people.

As Xehanort exited the Library, he turned his head to see the sight of the girl being chased by three teens. Lowering his eyebrows, forming a disapproving frown, he readied himself. A second later, he dashed forward with tremendous speed, with dark energy coating his form as he did.

He collided into the offending teens, knocking them over. As he reverted to his original form, he flew past the girl and landed on the ground with a roll. The girl stopped running, the initial surprise of seeing a dark shadow morph into a man causing her to freeze.

"Are you alright?" Xehanort asked the girl when he stood up.

She nodded in response. Xehanort quickly scanned the girl, seeing that she had long, brown hair, yellow eyes and a black bow. Her expression was filled with panic, but considering that she was being chased, and Xehanort's sudden entrance, that was expected.

"Hey, dude, keep her still!"

Xehanort and the girl looked back, seeing the three teens that were chasing her getting back on their feet. The one in the middle, a miserable looking child (in Xehanort's opinion), glared hatefully at the girl. He pointed at her.

"Hey, didn't you hear me!? I said-"

"Keep her still?" Xehanort asked calmly, with a lace of venom added in. Xehanort walked up to the girl, kneeling down beside her and placing a hand on her shoulder. At first, she panicked, because she was afraid that he would join the three teens. However, she calmed when she saw the cruel look he was sending towards the teens. The type you see someone give to a target.

"Well, if I were to do that, you would hurt her." Xehanort playfully said.

"That's the point, idiot." The finger-pointer said.

Xehanort tilted his head to one side, taking his hand off of the girls shoulder. "And why would you want to?"

"Take off the freak's bow and you'll see!?" said another one of the teens.

Those words caused the girl to lower her head, a slight whimper escaping as the insult quickly got to her. Xehanort, on the other hand, stood tall, his eyes glaring with a perfect mix of steel and ice.

"That would be quite disrespectful. You clearly have no clue how to act around women, do you?" the Keyblade Master said.

At that, the third goon ran at Xehanort, pulling a thin piece of wood. As he was about to hit Xehanort, the teen suddenly felt something sharp pressing up against his throat, causing him to stop dead in his tracks. He slowly lowered his eyes to see an oddly-shaped sword, albeit a very deadly looking one, in the hands of the silver haired young man.

"Secondly…" he applied a little more pressure, causing the teen to pale. "Don't think you can hurt a child… on… my… watch."

Xehanort pulled back the Keyblade, spun it in his hand and thrusted the bottom of the guard into his stomach, sending him flying back to the other two. Before the remaining two bullies could respond, Xehanort warped right up in front of then, grabbing them both by the throat. Xehanort lifted them both up into the air slowly, a menacing look in his eyes that seemed to grow by the second.

Xehanort gave the two a brief smirk. This was followed by blasts of dark energy emerging from the bullies. They felt excruciating pain flow through them, so much so that they were suddenly feeling too weak to even scream. A few seconds later, Xehanort shot another blast into the, only this time the bullies were encased in ice.

"How does it feel?" Xehanort asked the bullies. When they didn't respond, Xehanort let of a slight chuckle, knowing that they couldn't speak now that they were frozen. "My bad."

The third bully had seen what the Silver haired young man did to his friends. His eyes were filled with rage. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY FRIENDS!?" He roared.

"Simply disposed of some waste." Xehanort said charismatically. "I'd be a little more grateful, were it not for there being a child present, things would been much messier."

"That's not a kid." The bully said, pointing at the girl. "It's an animal, a piece of trash th-"

Beofre the bully could get another word in, Xehanort pointed his Keyblade at the bully, firing a bolt of thunder that struck the bully in the dead center of his stomach, sending him flying back. When he landed, Xehanort 'tut tutted' at the bully.

"Such language in front of a lady." Xehanort said calmly. He then waved his Keyblade at the two bully ice statues. "Speaking of trash, be sure to take _these_ pieces with you on your way home. Littering is seriously frowned upon these days."

The bully sat up and was about to say something foul towards the Keyblade Master. However, when he saw the dark gleam in his eyes that scared off even a Deathstalker in his time here, the bully knew that he was not going to win this. Instead, he got up, grabbed his frozen friends by their hands and dragged them aaway as quickly as possible.

"Good riddance." Xehanort said. he looked back to see the the girl. She looked a little shaken from what she had seen, but she looked up at Xehanort with a mix of awe and curiosity in her face.

"Are you alright, child." He asked, to which the girl nodded. He knelt down beside her. "Can you speak? What is your name."

The girl seemed a little reluctant at first. However, seeing that this man saved her, she felt she at least owed him that much. "B… Blake, sir. Blake Belladonna."

Xehanort raised his brow from hearing that. "That's a very nice name, Miss Belladonna." He said. he then motioned his arms and tilted himself forward in the form of a regal bow. "My name is Xehanort."

"… Thank… thank you, Xehanort." Blake said back to him.

Xehanort brought his face back up to look at Blake, only looking a bit more serious. "Tell me. Why were those boys bothering you?" he asked.

"…" the girl was reluctant to answer. She feared that if she told him the reason, then he would treat her just as badly.

Seeing that he wasn't going to get anything out of her this way, he decided on another approach. "Tell you what. Seeing as you've had a rough day, I'll get you something to eat."

At that, the girl looked up in eagerness. Xehanort's eyes didn't miss how the bow seemed to twitch in response as well. "R…Really? You won't mind?"

"Of course not. I've been wanting to try that new… huh?"

Xehanort patted the right pocket of his trousers. He patted it a few more times to make sure, followed by looking at his pocket. He then mentally cursed as he remembered that he lent his wallet to Amber.

Seeing the irritation in the man's face, Blake looked concerned. "Are you okay, mister?"

Xehanort looked back at the girl. He was as still as a statue for a moment, before another idea came into mind. "Yes, I'm alright. It's just that I remembered lending my wallet to my friend. We will need to meet up with her first." He stood up and offered the girl a helping hand up. "Chances are you'll like her. A bit cheery for me, but, that's life."

Blake let off a slight giggle from Xehanort's words. The Keyblade Master knew that id he was going to get some answers he would need to gain her trust, and Amber would help in securing it. While normally, he wouldn't go through this much trouble for anyone that wasn't willing to pay him, there was something about the girl that bothered her.

More specifically, the amount of Darkness he could sense weighing her down.

"Where are we going?" Blake asked Xehanort.

It was then that Xehanort suddenly twitched one eye as he held in his frustration. "The one place in town I hoped to avoid, hence why I was foolish enough to lend the girl my wallet."

…..

"Oh, I think this would definitely grab his attention."

The sales assistant had made Amber try on various outfits. Some were nice, while most of them were… questionable. The Fall Maiden had ended up trying one dresses, body suits, swim suits, a set of painfully high-heeled shoes and several costumes, some of which were a bit too revealing for her taste.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TRYING TO DO!?" Amber yelled, now wearing an outfit reminiscent of a certain video game Plumber. Hat and mustache included.

"I thought you'd like something different to try on. Plus, I just wanted to see that shade of red on you, oh it looks marvelous."

Amber was seriously beginning to question this woman's sanity. Before she could go off and put Amber in another outfit, they heard someone calling out Amber's name.

"Amber, are you still here?" Xehanort asked.

Amber felt a little embarrassed that he was calling out to her like that. one of these days, Xehanort should start using the scroll that she bought him.

Amber quickly took of the outfit she was wearing and changed into her original outfit, consisting of a black t-shirt, skinny jeans, a short-sleeved button jacket and sandals. She stepped out of the changing room, ignoring the assistant's surprise at how quickly she changed back (To be honest, Amber couldn't have gotten out of it faster) and looked around for Xehanort.

"Xehanort, where are you?" she called out.

"To your left."

Amber jumped in surprise, turning to see Xehanort standing before her. She was surprised when she saw a younger girl holding her hand, seeming a little uncomfortable being in the store.

"Um, Xehanort? Why do you have a kid with you?" Amber asked in confusion.

"I will explain in due time, preferably after you've returned my-"

"OOOOOH, is this him?" the sales assistant asked popping in between the two. Xehanort had to use all his will-power to prevent himself from lashing out at the woman in reflex. She quickly dashed around him, checking to see what he was like. "My, my, my, we have ourselves a looker." She said. she turned back to Amber, suddenly holding a white, cardboard box.

Xehanort raised an eyebrow. "Where did you get that box?"

Instead of answering his question, the sales assistant opened the box and pulled out a burgundy dress with various frills and floral designs. However, Xehanort was a bit suspicious when he saw that the bottom of the box was a bit unstable.

"Tell me, young man. What would you think about your girlfriend wearing this dress. Think it'll look good?"

Xehanort quickly eyed the dress. He didn't have much interest in clothing, and was terrible with fashion. He looked down at Blake, motioning his head towards the dress. Blake looked between the Dress and Amber, trying to decide what to say.

"I… I think it would look nice." Blake finally said.

The assistant looked back at Amber. "Well, you heard the girl, try it on. You wouldn't want to disappoint her."

Amber looked at the girl, noticing that she was looking at a number of different clothes. Amber looked back at the girl, seeing that she was wearing a bow, a faded t-shirt and shorts. She got worried when she saw that the girl wasn't wearing shoes, afraid that she might hurt her feet.

That's when she got another idea. She bent over to look at the girl levelly. "Hey, is there something you like?"

Blake looked back at Amber, a little embarrassed at having been caught out so easily. Amber smiled at the cute expression she was making. "How about we get you something?" she suggested.

At that point, Blake was looking at Amber with complete awe. It had been a long time since anyone had treated her with any form of kindness, never mind offering to buy her something. She was about to refuse, but Xehanort knelt down beside her and whispered into her ear.

" _Don't bother refusing. She's as persistent as they come. You'll never hear the end of it._ " he said, purposefully loud enough for Amber to hear, causing her to look at Xehanort with a pouting expression. This caused Blake to laugh a bit more.

"Okay. Thank you." Blake said.

"Aw, how sweet." The assistant said, touched by Amber's kindness. She then lead them to various parts of the store, wanting to show them what they had to offer. Xehanort stayed behind, glaring at the back of Amber's head, knowing that it was _his_ money she was planning to blow in one go.

Amber looked back, knowing already that Xehanort would be glaring, and stuck her tongue out at him.

"What a child." Xehanort muttered.

Seeing how they would be busy for a while longer, Xehanort decided to leave the store. He took a piece of paper and wrote where he'd be, leaving it beside the white box. With that, he left the store. Seeing how it was still daylight, he knew that there would be more places to visit.

"Where to visit next?" he asked himself.

Sadly, that question was debunked after Xehanort felt something pressing up against his head.

"DON'T MOVE, PUNK!" roared the assailant.

The assailant turned Xehanort around, pressing the end of his firearm in the center of Xehanort's forehead. The people around him seemed to be oblivious as to what was happening. He raised an eyebrow at this, causing the assailant to roar at him again.

"I SAID DON'T MOVE!"

"…" Ignoring the spit landing on his face, Xehanort was curious as to what was going on. "I must say, I'm surprised that you aren't drawing in more attention. You certainly have the volume… and spittle, for that matter, to do so."

The assailant smiled. "That's because of my Semblance. I can make myself completely invisible. No noise, footprints, scent, I'm a ghost. Handy for picking off retards like you."

"… I'm sorry. What did you call me?" Xehanort asked.

"Are you deaf? I called you a F-"

Before the assailant could finish what he was saying, Xehanort grabbed him by the throat, using his power to warp both himself and the assailant to a far away building, leaving the gun behind.

"Just wanted to make sure." Xehanort said. He released the grip on the assailant. Before he could respond, the assailant saw Xehanort summon a weird-looking sword. Xehanort swiftly spun around, his arm outstretched with the Keyblade in hand. The assailant wasn't able to speak, slowly lifting his hand over his throat.

Xehanort raised an eyebrow and formed a blade-like smile. "What's the matter? Trouble speaking?" Xehanort asked. He slowly lowered the Keyblade until it was just half an inch away from the ground. Soon after, he tapped it on the surface.

Crimson liquid started to seep through the assailant's fingers, followed by his eyes rolling to the back of his head. Xehanort turned his head back to look at the dying assailant, his eyes narrowing in disgust.

"And people wonder why the White Fang are so hard on them. The fools." He said out loud. Deciding to hide the evidence, Xehanort clicked his fingers, opened a corridor of darkness underneath the body and let it fall through. When the portal had vanished, all traces had vanished.

Turning back, Xehanort looked down from the building, seeing Amber and Blake making their way out of the store.

" _They seem happy._ " Xehanort thought.

With that, he opened another Corridor of Darkness, which he used to enter an alleyway, where he would meet up with Blake and Amber.

….

In the Sandwich steakhouse, Amber, Blake and Xehanort were all munching down on some late lunch. Amber had decided to forgo the meet, instead ordering an egg-plant lasagne (Xehanort was impressed that they thought to serve all tastes there), Blake was enjoying a tuna sandwich, while Xehanort chowed down on a plate of steak and French fries.

Surprisingly enough, they were the only ones there. However, since the restaurant had only just opened, and they had limited advertising means, things would be a bit slow starting off.

After the three had finished their meals, they sat in silence, letting the food digest. However, the silence was proving to be a little uncomfortable for Amber. As such, she decided to speak.

"So… what do you guys want to talk about?" she asked.

Xehanort put both his elbows on the table and interlocked his hands, resting his chin on them. "Well, there is one thing I'd like to discuss… but only with Blake's permission."

At that, Amber looked at Xehanort with a look of confusion. "What… do you mean?" she asked, now a little worried.

Xehanort quickly eyed Blake, asking the silent question. Blake waited a few seconds, but in the end, she nodded in agreement. From there, Xehanort told Amber about how she was being harassed by a couple of bullies, chasing her and calling her a freak. Amber stayed silent as Xehanort spoke, but her feeling towards the matter were clear through the mask of stone her face appeared to be.

"Why?" Amber asked after Xehanort had finished. "Why would they do that? No one deserves to be treated like that."

Xehanort stayed silent for a moment as he contemplated Amber's statement. While Valid, there were those with either too much stupidity, hubris or ignorance to see things like that.

"It's because Blake is a Faunus." Xehanort said.

At that, Blake's head snapped towards Xehanort, fear and worry present in her facial expression. She was about to speak when Xehanort interrupted her.

"I know because I saw you're bow twitching. While it would've been the wind, there was no wind strong enough to make it move like that today. Plus, with you're obvious love of Tuna, and when you hid behind Amber after seeing that dog on the way over here, it confirmed that you are a cat Faunus."

Blake lowered her head, feeling both ashamed and worried at having been caught out so easily. She slowly lifted her head to look back at the two. Amber had a worried and sympathetic look on her face, while Xehanort's expression was unchanging.

"Do you guys… hate the Faunus?" Blake asked them.

Both Xehanort and Amber shook their heads. Amber was the first to speak. "No, we don't. I know that the Faunus aren't any different from us, and that they should be treated with the same level of respect." She clenched her fist slightly. "I hate it when I see that kind of injustice."

"It doesn't help that the White Fang haven't been making good impressions as of late." Xehanort commented, knowing of how the once peaceful organization had been resorting to violence, literally fighting for equal rights via terrorist attacks, theft, kidnapping and so on. "People have become more afraid of the Faunus because they assume that there are White Fang agents amongst them."

Amber, in her anger, sat up from her table and slammed her palms onto the table, glaring at Xehanort in disbelief. "But that's-"

"How others view things, not me." Xehanort said, sending another spine-chilling glance towards Amber, silencing her for the time being. He turned back to Blake. "Tell me, Blake. Is all this 'injustice', as Amber accurately put it, the reason you wear that bow?"

Blake nodded. "I want people to know who I am over what I am. I don't want people thinking I'm bad because…"

"… In that case, Blake, you are a fool." Xehanort stated.

"Xehanort!" Amber said, appalled by her trainer's words.

"Blake, be honest with me. You wish for a world where both humans and Faunus can live in total peace, correct?" he asked, to which he got a nod. "Well, you're not going to get anywhere by hiding your heritage under that bow. Doing so makes it seem like you're ashamed of what you are."

At this, Blake got angry. She stared at Xehanort, directly in the eyes, and said "I'm NOT!"

"Then prove it." he responded coldly. "Don't hide what you are, embrace it, show people that you're proud. It's that kind of power that is going to turn the tide in the fight for equality."

Blake could feel the anger building up, but it was also making her upset. "But… that's not enough."

"I know." Xehanort stated. "You've been through more darkness in one childhood than anyone should have gone through. It isn't fair for you to have done through that."

He looked at Blake directly in the eyes before speaking again. "But… through that Darknesss… I see a girl who cares for her kind, who wishes to bring peace to a world that is infected with injustice. One who, despite all odds, has both the heart and the capability in fighting for what she believes in."

Amber was surprised. In all the years that she had known Xehanort, he had never spoken so… passionately, not even about his interest in knowledge. However, he was pouring his heart and soul into what he was saying.

"Blake… this is what I see in you. But the question is… can _you_ see this in yourself?"

Blake was surprised by the young man's words. However, as she thought about it, she could tell that he had a point. Every day, she wanted nothing more than to create a more equal world. But, she wasn't sure how to do it. She was worried that if she was to take action, then it would only cause more harm than good.

" _Am I… truly able to fight?_ "

Blake widened her eyes when she realized it. What was stopping her was her own self-doubt. She wanted to make a more equal world, but she was letting her own worry get in the way of it. If she was going to fight for what she believed in, then she couldn't waste any time worrying about what _might_ happen, instead on is happening, and what she can do to help.

When she looked at Xehanort, she saw what seemed to be pride. He could tell that she had her answer.

"…Thank you." She said.

Xehanort nodded in response. "Your welcome. Now, stand up."

"Huh?" both Amber and Blake said.

"You heard me." He said.

Confused, Blake got onto her feet. Xehanort stood up as well. He held out his arm and summoned his Keyblade. Threw the Keyblade up and let it spin, catching it by the blade, lightly so that he didn't cut himself. He knelt down in front of Blake and held out the handle to her.

"In your hand, take this key. If you have the makings, then through this simple act of taking, it's wielder you hall one day be made." He recited. "In time, you will gain the power to defend those you care for, man, woman, human or Faunus. So long as you stay true to yourself, don't let the Darkness overtake you, instead use it as a means of reaching the light."

Blake looked at the handle hesitantly, unsure of what to make of it. She turned to Amber, as if hoping to get an answer from her. Amber smiled and nodded, having been told about the Keyblade by Xehanort.

Feeling a little reassured, Blake slowly raised her hand and grasped the handle. As she did… she couldn't describe it. It was like a small surge of power went into her hand. Despite that, she released her grasp on the Keyblade. She looked up at Xehanort, who promptly dismissed the weapon.

"Stay true to you, Miss Belladonna." Xehanort said. He stood up and gave the girl a two-fingered salute. "And good day to you." He finished, leaving a couple of lien cards on the table. Amber had asked if Blake already had a home, to which she said yes. With that, Amber and Xehanort left the restaurant, leaving Blake to watch them go.

When they had left, Blake sat silently by herself for a few moments. She slowly lifted her hands up and undid her bow, revealing a pair of cat ears underneath. She held the bow in her hand for a little while longer, staring at it as various memories played out through her head. After she had finished, she placed the bow on the table and walked out the door, leaving her troubles behind her, walking into the dawn of a new stage in her life.

….

In a remote location, far away from any of the Kingdoms, a lone man was sitting at a desk in a large cavern, redesigned to make it into a laboratory. After his public disgrace, Merlot had been driven out of Vale. If he had to be honest, he wouldn't be surprised if the citizens all brought weapons to shoot at him as he left the city.

"Those… imbeciles…" he muttered under his breath. "Do they not understand that my work would _save_ lives? Indeed, some lives were lost in pursuit of the grander goal, but it was necessary."

HE stood up from his table and walked away from it briskly. He reached a rectangular window, in which he was able to see various Grimm trapped in cages. These Grimm were different from the rest. The ones Merlot had caged were glowing green in several places, green crystals sticking out or replacing where their bone armor should've been.

Not to mention that these Grimm were at least twice the size of a regular Grimm, making an Alpha seem like a pup in comparison.

"They don't seem to understand that it we are able to control the Grimm, we could use them to our advantage. An unlimited supply of weapons, the military would become strong, creating forces unlike any other. What glory we would have under our belt if I were allowed to finish my work."

At that, Merlot narrowed his eyes, remembering a certain Headmaster being one of the degenerates responsible for his disgrace.

" **Oh? Touchy, are we?** "

At the sound of this new voice, Merlot jumped, turning around to see a new face directly in front of him. Upon seeing this face, he felt every fibre in his body seizing, his blood chilling and his terror rising. The woman had deathly pale skin, red eyes, which were also black where the while was, added with cracks emerging from the edges. This strange woman gently lifted a hand, which had long, black finger nails, each one like small blades, and placed it on Merlot's cheek.

" **Have no fear, Dr. Merlot. MY name is Salem. I must say, I was impressed by your work.** " She lowered her hand and made her way to the window, where she saw the mutated Grimm. " **I never imagined my children becoming so strong in such a short amount of time.** "

"Y… You're 'children'?" Merlot asked.

Salem turned back to face Merlot. " **What if I were to make you an offer, Merlot. In exchange for one wish from me, I will give you everything you need. Finance, chemicals, materials, Grimm, anything you require to improve your work. To make the ultimate Grimm.** "

Merlot's mouth hung open in awe. Here, before him, was someone who supported his work. Someone who was willing to gather the necessary items to complete his experiment. It was like being handed his dream on a silver platter.

"What do you wish for in exchange?" he asked, a hint of glee present in her voice.

When Salem spoke, her eyes seemed to glow, as she remembered the one man that now forced her to take such ridiculous measures. " **In exchange… you will ensure the death of the one known as 'Xehanort'.** "

 **Alright, ladies and gents, I'm going to leave it at that for now. In case any of you ask, there's going to be one more chapter before we move into the RWBY story, just wan to tie things up in the next chapter. Secondly, I decided to have Blake appear because she seemed to be having some fair hardship all her life, and since Xehanort could sense it all in the form of Darkness, it was only natural for him to take an interest. the other reason, I will reveal in the next chapter.**

 **And as to if whether or not she'll be able to wield the Keyblade… Well, be sure to keep reading to find out, ;-).**

 **Also, i took are of that repeat mistake I made. Sorry about that, I'll be sure to be sharper from now on.**

 **So, before I sign off:**

 **The Baz: Ask and yee shall receive. Glad you like it.**

 **Guest: Thanks very much**

 **Antex-The Legendary Zoroark: There's one change that Xehanort made, hope you liked it.**

 **Guestwithideas: You make some very interesting points. Also, thanks very much for the Merlot suggestion, it was awesome.**

 **Guest Isa: Thanks very much, I'll try to keep it up.**

 **KH fan: I'm not 100% sure about shippings for Xehanort, just so you know.**

 **Raximus: Just one more chapter, then we're into Season 1 of RWBY**

 **Ultima-owner: That he is, but considering he's training one of the most powerful people in Remnant, he'd need to be thorough.**

 **nexus4123: A bit of training in this one, but I plan on having a fair bit more in the next chapter. Keep your eyes peeled.**

 **Silent XD7: Thanks very much, and I hope you liked this chapter.**

 **Right, I'll see you all later. Don't forget to review, I'd love to hear your thoughts, and give as much criticism as you want, provided it doesn't turn into flaming. That really drives me up the wall. Have a nice day, bye.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi everyone, hope all's well with yourselves today. So, I finally managed to update the story, sorry it took so long by the way, it was a combination of writer's block and losing the mind-frame for the story after watching 'Death Note', which I recommend, especially if your into thrillers.**

 **Also, I wanted to let you know that, since trying to write this story has been a bit of a challenge, I'm going to be taking a break from it for a bit, instead focusing on the stories that I've been neglecting. As weird as it may sound, that's just how my head works. So, just because I feel it's only right for you to know, I'll be working an a couple of chapters each for 'Sky Havoc in Remnant', 'Remnant of Shadows' and Fairy Tail Dark Void' respectively.**

 **Right with that said, I'll keep my mouth shut for now any let you all enjoy the story. I hope you all like it.**

"How long are you going to keep going on about that!?"

Amber and Xehanort were currently walking down the streets of Vale, the former being interested to see if there was anything else going on in the city. The latter, on the other hand, had something else on his mind, but chose not to voice it… at least not yet.

"How can you not be!? I mean, yeah, it was over a week ago, but it was still so awesome! I mean, I got to check out that store, you saved Blake from the bullies, and you gave her confidence to stand up for herself." She listed off. She came to an abrupt halt, leaning forwards and looking up at Xehanort. "And you passed along the power of the Keyblade to her to boot, it was pretty cool."

Xehanort didn't meet Amber's gaze, but he narrowed his eyes in response. "I gave her the opportunity is all. It'll be up to her whether or not she receives the power in the future." He said seriously, knowing how not everyone who the ceremony was performed on would gain the power of the Keyblade.

At that, Amber straightened herself up and put her hands behind her head, her face once again making the pouting expression. "Geez, do you have to be such a buzzkill?"

"… Maybe not, but I prefer it." Xehanort admitted.

Amber rolled her eyes, thinking that this was typical of Xehanort. "So, remind me again why we're in Vale again? Don't get me wrong, it's great here, but I thought all your business here was done."

"I forgot to pick up that Frying pan your mother wished for. Can't back down from a promise." He said.

"… Meh, fair enough, I guess." She was about to walk again when a thought occurred to her. She looked back at Xehanort and asked "Say, why did you choose Blake to wield it? Not that I'm complaining, but, still."

Xehanort didn't answer right away, but instead his mind flashed back to memories of a boy. One that gave into the Darkness, almost having lost himself to it completely. Instead, he learned how to conquer it, freeing him from the shackles that had bound him for so long.

"Let's just say that she reminded me of someone from long ago." He said.

Amber could tell from in the look in his eyes that it was something he didn't like to discuss, so she decided to leave him be. She did notice him looking at her with a knowing smile.

"Any chance you regret not taking up my offer when I made it?" he asked.

Two years after Xehanort had agreed to train Amber, Xehanort had been keen to see how much power she would be able to handle. As such, he made the decision to tell Amber about the Keyblade, about what it can do, how it can be passed along, etc. He neglected to tell her about the other worlds and the Keyblade War, deciding that it would be for another time.

Amber grinned widely as she continued walking. "Don't you remember what I said when you asked me?" she asked Xehanort. "Why would I need to use an oversized key when I've got all the power I need right here!" she said, summoning a small flame in her hand.

She looked back at Xehanort. When she did, her cheeks puffed up, followed by a fit of uncontrollable laughter. "OH MY GOD! THAT'S THE SAME FACE YOU HAD THE LAST TIME!" she yelled before returning to her laughter.

"…" Xehanort looked vastly unimpressed.

Deciding not to press any further with this conversation, Xehanort simply walked on. Amber could tell that she got under his skin, which only served to make her laugh even harder.

" _This is going to be a long walk back._ " Xehanort thought.

…

"Thank you again for welcoming us into your household."

John and Amber were currently seated at the dinner table, enjoying a fry-up for a late lunch. However, they weren't alone. They were joined by the silver haired man, Ozpin, and his stern-looking assistant, Glynda Goodwitch.

"Not a problem." John said enthusiastically, enjoying a mug of coffee as he did. "Not everyday you see the Headmaster of Beacon stopping by your house."

Carla silently enjoyed her food. She was enthusiastic as her husband, but she decided not to let it show. Her main reason was because she didn't want to seem improper. Unlike John, Amber, especially Xehanort for that matter, Carla was always mindful of how to behave when they had company.

Carla took a sip of her tea before speaking. "So… if you don't mind me asking, what has brought you to our home?"

Ozpin make a small grin before speaking. "Of course, forgive me for not speaking sooner." He said. "The reason me and Glynda here are here is because we wish to discuss something that occurred in town with you."

At that, John's face became less enthusiastic, while Carla seemed to tense up.

Seeing this, Glynda raised a hand up. "Please, we mean you no harm." She said. "It's just… well, we've recently been made aware of someone with… extraordinary power. We were wondering if you could help us." She tried to sound peaceful, but her hesitation only worked to further nerve the Autumns.

"Not that we know anything…" John started. "But say that we did, what's your business with this person."

"To keep her safe." Ozpin stated, seeing no reason to hold back.

John and Amber froze. The fact that he said 'her' had them worried that they knew about Amber. Carla bit her lip and John tightened his fist.

Ozpin saw their reaction. He narrowed his eyes as he saw that they did, in fact, know something about the Fall Maiden. "I see…" he said calmly. He stood up from his chair and pick up his cane. He looked at them with an apologetic expression.

"I'm sorry for having troubled you as I did. Thank you for your hospitality." The Headmaster said to the Autumns. With that he bowed and made his way for the door.

Glynda stood up from her chair and hastily bowed in a formal manner. "We are so sorry for having caused you trouble, I hope tha-"

She was interrupted when they heard the sound of wood splitting. All heads turned to see a hand having broken through the door, grabbing the Headmaster of Beacon by the green scarf. A second later, the hand pulled him through, destroying the door in the process.

"Professor!" Miss Goodwitch exclaimed.

…

On the other side of the door, Ozpin continued to roll on the ground, followed by using the momentum to roll on his back and land on his feet in a crouched position. He looked up to see a young woman with brown hair standing a few feet away from him, beside her a silver-haired young man with a smug expression.

It took Ozpin a second, but he was able to recognise a strong power within the boy. The same power he felt along with the Fall Maiden's energy.

"Not quite what I was expecting when I came here…" Ozpin spun his cane in his hand before securing his grip, holding it like a sword. He looked back at the young man with a smug expression of his own. "But… one can't help but be intrigued." He admitted.

Xehanort didn't say anything. Instead, he outstretched his arm, summoning his Keyblade. The Headmaster widened his eyes in surprise at the weapon.

Amber looked at the older man before them. She was more confused than angry or worried, as she felt that she had seen this man before. It was on the tip of her tongue, despite not having ever seen the man before.

Xehanort tightened his grip on the weapon before he dashed towards Ozpin, outstretching his arm as he was about to hit the Headmaster. However, Xehanort was surprised when Ozpin brought his cane up and blocked the slash coming from the side. The Headmaster quickly spun around and punched Xehanort in the chest, followed by the Headmaster ducking under a sudden spinning kick from Xehanort. Ozpin countered by shooting a foot up at Xehanort, which caught the Keyblade Master in the chin.

Xehanort was sent stumbling backwards. As he regained his balance, Xehanort re-readied his battle stance. Before he did, however, Xehanort felt something unusual in his mouth. He brought his fingers up, gently tapping the inside of his cheek. He pulled them out and saw crimson liquid on the tips.

Xehanort slowly formed a dark grin on his face, his eyes seemed to be filling with dark anticipation. "… Finally…" he brought be Keyblade up and slowly covered himself with a dark aura. "Let's see what else you can do…"

Ozpin concentrated his aura, coating himself in a green light. "I'd say the same with you." Ozpin said, genuinely interested to see what else this young man could do.

The Keyblade Master spun around and summoned several Dark Firaga spells, all of which homed on Ozpin. The Headmaster, in response, embedded the bottom of his cane into the ground, creating a green barrier that shielded him from the dark fire; Ozpin managed to absorb the force from the attack, adding it to his own strength.

Dismissing the barrier, Ozpin pulled out his cane from the ground and thrusted it at Xehanort, creating a shock-wave that flied towards Xehanort. The Keyblade Master swiftly slashed the air, creating a shockwave that fired towards Ozpin, only to collide with the attack that Ozpin created. Upon collision, the power was enough to create powerful blast of wind, sending all but the two combatants flying back.

Xehanort took the opportunity to warp behind Ozpin, quickly bringing his Keyblade up to Ozpin's throat. With that, Ozpin seemed to have lost.

From the door-frame, John, Carla and Glynda all saw the fight. Goodwitch looked stunned after seeing the Headmaster losing in the fight. In all the time that she had worked for him, she had never seen him lose a fight, whether it be practice or the real thing. Whoever his opponent was, he seemed to have at least as much combat experience as the Headmaster.

"Now…" Xehanort pressed the blade up against Ozpin's throat. "What interest have you in the Maidens… sir?" he asked with a chilling tone.

Ozpin's eyes turned towards Xehanort. "You're well informed, aren't you?"

"XEHANORT, STOP!"

The Keyblade Master still held his weapon at the Headmaster's throat, but he turned his head to see Amber.

"What is wrong?" Xehanort asked.

"That's Professor Ozpin! The Headmaster of Beacon Academy." Amber exclaimed.

Xehanort widened his eyes, before turning back to where Ozpin was, only to find that the man had vanished. In quick response, Xehanort spun around, to see where his captive had gone, only to see him standing a few feet away from the Keyblade Master. Said Headmaster looked up at Xehanort with a friendly expression, resting on his cane.

"Would you like discuss this over a cup of cocoa?" he asked with his usual tone.

…

Merlot smiled with rabid glee, staring at one of his first real successes. A Beowolf was currently trying to gnaw itself out of the cage it was trapped in. As it chewed, its saliva was slowly dripping down the cage.

"You… you were the first success…" he said as glowing, green drool rolled down the bars. "And now… you will become even stronger than ever."

He pulled out a syringe from his lab coat, containing an orange substance that was glowing at much as the green additions to the Grimm before him. He carefully examined the needle point, making sure that it was functioning properly and that it was clean. He didn't like the idea of giving his beloved creation an infection.

Pacing to the side of the cage, he injected the formula into the creature. He had to be quick, as he had nothing to restrain the beast from the outside, and this particular Grimm had become a lot more vicious after being given the original formula.

After he injected the formula into the beast, he briskly backed away, seeing how the beast was now reacting to the pain. It roared and howled, bashing itself against the bars of its cell. As the beast tried harder to break out of its cell, a change was taking place. The creature not only started to grow in size, albeit not by much but it was noticeable. The green in the creature was quickly morphing into a glowing orange, more of its veins were showing as the the formula spread through its body. The final change to the creature was when its eyes switched from the shade of red to orange.

The creature soon began to calm down. As it did, Merlot stood on the spot, looking up at the Beowolf with a mixture of shock and awe (mostly the latter).

"It worked…" he said out loud. His lips slowly formed a smile as he continued at the monster. "It… it actually worked!"

" **Are you sure?** "

The doctor jumped from surprise, turning to see the being that had helped him acquire the ingredients to improve his formula.

"S-Salem!" Merlot said. He then pointed at the enhanced Grimm. "Look. LOOK! The formula was a success."

Salem looked at the Grimm. Her eyes concentrated on the pieces of orange that were present on the creature, whether it be the veins or crystallized armor. At first glance, the creature displeased her, not being used to seeing any of her creatures with such… abnormalities. However, she couldn't deny the strength and power that was radiating from it.

The Mother of Grimm smiled, turning her head back to Merlot. "It seems that I was right to enlist you, Doctor."

The Doctor gave the being a formal bow, while keeping eye-contact with her. "Thank you, m'lady." He said with a hint of pride in his voice. Straightening himself up, he looked back at the Grimm. "If I may be so bold, m'lady… we should allow the success a test run, to see how powerful it truly is."

Salem went over to the creature, reaching her hand towards the creature and gently caressed the side of its face. It stayed perfectly still, still recognizing its true master.

" **What an excellent idea, Merlot.** " She said, her eyes glowing as a black mist, something unlike Aura, seemed to seep out of her. " **And I just happen to know the perfect target.** "

Merlot raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And who might that be, M'lady?"

Salem slowly lowered her head, pulling out her arm from underneath. When it was out in the open, where her hand should've been was a less than pleasant looking stump, the scar tissue mixed with her skin tone made it a chilling sight.

" **The one who did** _ **this**_ **to me.** "

….

"That's about it, I guess."

After the fight between Xehanort and Ozpin, the Autumns had allowed both the Headmaster and his assistant to stay in their home. During which, Ozpin had decided to fully inform the family and the Keyblade master their reason for seeking the Fall Maiden.

After several cups of tea, coffee and cocoa (the latter by Amber and Ozpin), the Headmaster had finished the story.

Xehanort couldn't help but smirk. "A secret organisation dedicated to the safety of the Maidens, huh?" he asked sarcastically.

Ozpin nodded. "As hard as it may be to believe, that is the case, young man." He replied with an assertive tone.

Glynda decided to take over from there. "It was our organisation that turned the Maidens from common knowledge to myth. With the amount of power they possessed-"

"Armies or enemies would try to take the power for themselves." John finished, his usual cheer non-present as he was having difficulty processing this information.

"Certainly would've made the world a less pleasant place to be." Xehanort added, a slight note of dark humour present in his voice.

Carla had been silent during the exchange, seeming to be having difficulty believing that this was happening. To her, it seemed peculiar that someone appeared at their door saying that they were a part of a secret organisation sworn to protect people like her daughter… then again, she wouldn't have believed in the Maidens if she hadn't seen that power Amber now possessed.

Xehanort looked over at Amber. "Any chance you have memories on this, Amber?"

Amber shook her head. "Not really. The memories just involve some of the last Maidens, what my powers are, and… something about… ah, I can't find it!" she said, slamming a fist onto the table.

Ozpin nodded in understanding. "Those would usually be one of the first thing new bearers would acquire."

Xehanort raised an eyebrow. "And yet, in all the time I've trained her, we haven't had a new memory surface." Xehanort pointed out. While he was still suspicious of Ozpin, he could tell that they were serious about his secret group and their intentions. Goodwitch seemed to show the same kind of assertiveness when she spoke of it.

Still… Xehanort knew that Ozpin was hiding something, and he knew what it was. During their fight, he could sense a spark of magic power ignited when he attacked. While irked that he couldn't detect it, Xehanort could tell that there was so little magic resting within him, it was nigh undetectable. What further surprised Xehanort that it was…

Fading.

"How the memories surface vary from person to person." Ozpin explained. He looked around and saw that Carla was still sceptical. He lowered his head for a second, resisting the urge to sigh in frustration. He raised his head up as he was about to speak.

"I believe you." Xehanort said.

Everyone turned their heads towards the Keyblade Master. Seeing the confusion in their faces, he could only laugh. "As outlandish as the story sounds, if they wished to fool anyone, they would've given us a less fantastic story." He explained. "That's the problem with schools these days, they stomp out creativity. Such a shame, it harshly affects interest in learning."

"Is that the only reason?" Carla asked.

"It's enough." Xehanort replied.

This seemed to calm the Autumn family a bit, as Xehanort was never afraid to say when he wasn't convinced by something, and would be up front about tis instincts… which usually proved to be true.

" _Plus… I wish to learn more about what exactly this man is… among everyone else in this world, he's a living abnormality._ " He thought.

Amber decided to speak. "So… what now?" she asked, now a bit uncertain of what is to come.

"Now…" Xehanort butted in. "Before we take this any further, I have one last question."

Ozpin nodded in response, signalling Xehanort to ask away.

"The main threat to the Maidens… wouldn't happen to be a woman called… get down!"

Amber raised an eyebrow. "A woman called 'Get Down'? Sounds a little weird." She pointed out.

"No, GET DOWN! ON THE FLOOR!"

The sound of an ear-shattering roar rang from the outside, causing John and Amber to fall the the ground from the pain in their ears, Amber quickly ducked to the floor as well, now worried when she saw her parents in pain.

Xehanort, on the other hand, summoned his Keyblade and pointed towards to where he heard the sound coming from. In a split second, he fired a volley of dark missiles at the wall, to which they blasted through and made their way to their intended target.

As the dust settled from the exploding wall, Xehanort widened his eyes after seeing what it was that had made the roar. Standing before them all was an Alpha Beowolf, but nothing like anything they had seen before. In several places, the bone armor had been replaced with an orange crystal. Even more unusual was that there were several orange veins covering the creature like cracks. The fact that it looked taller and stronger than any Alpha didn't help the matter.

"Well, this is new." Xehanort noted, a hint of genuine surprise in his voice.

Amber looked up to see what Xehanort was talking about, only look mind-blown after seeing the enhanced Alpha. "What… what the hell is that!?" she exclaimed.

Xehanort grinned as he readied his Keyblade. "My answer… a new sparring dummy."

As Xehanort dashed towards the creature, Amber suddenly kept her eyes on Xehanort with a look of rage.

"ARE YOU CALLING ME A DUMMY!?" she roared comically.

Xehanort didn't answer, as instead he was spinning in the motion of a buzz-saw as he was aiming for the creature's chest. When he was close enough, he swung the blade with great force at the creature. Xehanort wasn't able to hit his mark, as the creature brought a forearm in front of him, shielding itself from the Keyblade, even causing the weapon to rebound.

Xehanort was slightly startled by this, but he didn't let it stop him, as the creature was soon swiping its other arm at him. The Keyblade Master warped out of the monster's aim, appearing behind him as he thrusted the tip of his weapon into one of the creature's hind legs. These proved to be more vulnerable, as they were able to cut through.

As this happened, however, an orange substance seemed to spurt out of the creature, similar to how blood would act.

" _What sort of creature is this?_ " Xehanort thought.

He pulled the Keyblade away and jumped a few feet back. As he did, the creature turned back, its eyes, albeit orange instead of red, showed just as much ferocity as its kin. It leapt towards Xehanort, its claws outstretched for the kill. Xehanort countered by rolling under the creature before it landed, thrusting his Keyblade into its back after it landed and covered his free hand with dark lightning.

"Submit." He said calmly as he stabbed his hand into the creature, sending a lethal level of electricity through its system.

The creature howled in pain from the stabbings… but it didn't react in the slightest to the lightning. It simply turned its head to get a better view of Xehanort, growling as it wished to tear him apart. The Keyblade Master, on the other hand, looked at where he had struck with his Keyblade. He saw that it was being pushed out, and that the wounds to its legs were healing at an abnormal rate.

This further added to Xehanort's amazement. He pulled out the rest of the Keyblade, twisting it as he did to try and deal further damage to the beast. The Alpha bellowed in pain from this. It turned and bared its fangs at him, its anger reaching new levels.

"Ready to yield, fido?" he asked mockingly.

Before he could get any response out of the creature, a red object zoomed past Xehanort's head, embedding itself into the creature's shoulder. Half a second later, the object exploded, engulfing the creature in a torrent of flames.

"Got him!"

Xehanort turned to see John, along with his trusty crossbow and a satchel carrying several dust crossbow bolts.

"Many thanks, Johnathan," Xehanort said to him.

John grinned at Xehanort, nodding in response to the Keyblade Master's gratitude. However, his face quickly morphed to one of shock as he looked behind Xehanort. Noticing this, Xehanort turned, only to see that the flames engulfing the creature slowly faded. By the time they were fully extinguished, the creature stood tall, like it had never been hurt in the process.

"Wh-what!? How the hell is it still standing!?" John blurted out in shock.

Xehanort gritted his teeth as he came to realize the answer. "It's absorbing the dust!" he yelled. He pointed to the orange areas with his weapon. "Whatever has altered the Grimm, it's allowing the creature to absorb elemental energy, making it stronger and heal more quickly."

This caused John to go as white as a sheet of paper. "You're saying… you're saying that thing's… immune to dust?"

Xehanort nodded, spinning his weapon at the same time as he took his battle stance. "Dust, yes. However…" he zoomed towards the monster, jumping high into the air. He then darted at the beast with the force of a ballistic missile, making sure to avoid the quick swipes that the creature tried to use on him. Successfully evading the swipes, Xehanort impaled the creature where its right arm was connected to its torso. With one more powerful swing, Xehanort tore off the monster's arm.

Xehanort warped beside John, a look of triumph present on his face. "Regular attacks, or non-elemental attacks, should do the trick." He finished.

The beast grabbed onto where its arm was cut. It looked back at Xehanort, narrowing its eyes at him.

" _For the first time since coming here… a Grimm that can actually hold its own against me…_ " Xehanort re-readied his battle stance. " _The only disappointment in this is that I have never been introduced to it before._ " He thought.

John looked at the satchel he had on his belt, hurryingly looking for regular cross-bow bolts. Hopefully they could take this thing down before it causes anymore damage.

"Xehanort, you keep attacking, I'll cover you!" John exclaimed.

Xehanort readied his Keyblade. "Sir, yes sir."

Xehanort was about to move when, out of the blue, the being became enveloped in a purple light. Following this, the creature suddenly flew up into the air before crashing back down with greater force. John and Xehanort looked at each other with confusion, before their peripheral vision caught a similar purple light behind them.

Goodwitch was holding a riding crop, her expression now of someone ready to go to war. With a flick of the riding crop, the debris from the house became cloaked in a similar purple light, following being shot towards the Beowolf with the astounding force. The debris broke on impact, but she was able to gather the shards and reconstruct them into a new shape, seemingly like a snake, that continuously lashed out at the monster.

"Whoa…" John said as he saw all this happen.

"Telekinesis." Xehanort noted, observing the use of her power as well. "Not a bad Semblance."

At this point, the creature' anger was soaring to new heights. Ignoring the pain, it charged towards the humans, intending to kill. Its first target was the woman who was glowing with the same light as the objects it was being pelted with.

"Oh no you don't!"

Amber got in between the creature and Goodwitch, summoning her staff and pointed it at the beast, firing a blast of energy that sent the creature flying through the air and on its back.

Amber looked back at her trainer and her father, grinning in a similar fashion to Xehanort. "You thought I was going to let you guys have all the fun?" she quipped.

Xehanort grinned back at her. "In that case… show us what you can do."

Amber nodded, her face becoming more serious as she looked back at the Beowolf. Spinning her staff, she charged towards the beast, coating it with a glittering, silver energy.

Seeing the young woman charge towards her, the Beowolf scampered to its feet and bare its fangs, an orange aura seeming to form around it, most likely from the orange substance.

Seeing the aura, John began to panic. "AMBER!"

John was about to run to his daughter's aid when Xehanort caught him by the shoulder. When the father looked back at Xehanort, he saw the Keyblade Master lightly shaking his head. "Don't worry. She'll be fine."

The beast swiped its claws widely at the Fall Maiden, hoping to land a hit. Amber, on the other hand, was able to easily evade the attacks. Even compared to a fully-trained Huntsmen or Huntress, she was quite agile and fast. To her, this was only a warm up.

" _Guess Xehanort's boot camp training had its benefits after all._ " She thought.

She rolled to the side and thrusted the tip of her staff into the creature's side. As it howled in pain, Amber yanked the staff back out and swung the weapon around, bashing the top of her weapon into the creature's staff. The attack caused the Beowolf to stumble back, granting Amber the chance to use the spell she had been charging.

She jumped backwards and stuck the staff in the ground. The silver energy that coated the staff flowed off it and dispersed into several spheres. The spheres floated in the air for a few seconds before each one took the shape of different weapons, swords, spears, even a ridiculously large shuriken. It was an intimidating sight, even causing the Beowolf to take a step back.

"Bad dog." She quipped before commanding the weapons to fly towards the Beowolf. As each one collided with the creature, they exploded on impact, causing severe damage to the creature. By the time she was finished, it was barely able to stand, the orange fluid spilling from the various wounds.

"That was so awesome." Amber couldn't help but say, trying her best to hold back her glee.

John looked at her daughter in awe, Goodwitch and Carla both had their hands over their mouths, while Ozpin and Xehanort both grinned.

" _Hmm… it seems that she mastered her power…_ " Xehanort folded his arms. " _About time, I was starting to lose my patience_."

Amber walked up to the beast, dismissing her staff. When she was about four feet away, she leaned over and lightly blew some air at it, causing the beast to fall on its black. The creature soon started to disintegrate, the orange parts of the creature disappearing. After a few seconds, the creature had finally faded away, the only part of it left was the range substance.

Amber suddenly jumped when she heard the sound of someone clapping. She turned to see that the culprit was Xehanort.

"Congratulations, Amber. You've exceeded my expectations." Xehanort said. "…Granted, they weren't high to begin with."

At that, Amber stuck her tongue out at him playfully, to which Xehanort shook his head with a small grin. The Keyblade Master turned to see the Headmaster and assistant. The former had his eyes slightly wide from the display of power that Amber showed, while the latter, looked like she was just about to faint from the sudden show. Fortunately, Carla was standing by.

Amber saw the two and scratched the side of her cheek, unsure about how to proceed. Seeing this, Xehanort took over.

"More Cocoa, anyone?"

…..

Merlot was furious. He was roaring and screaming after his creation had failed. Salem had sent his prized creation to the Autumn household in hopes of getting revenge on Xehanort. To make sure of how things were going, she had sent a floating eye, another one of her creations that allowed her to observe what was going on in the comfort of her own lair.

He was currently back in her lab, allowing Merlot to see what was going on as well. Both had expected the beast to succeed, due to the formula that made it immune to elemental attacks. Such a thing would not only seem to give the Keyblade Master an extra challenge, as he seemed to favour using the elements, but would most certainly leave the Huntsmen and Huntresses defenceless, with Dust being the main choice of weaponry.

However, they most certainly didn't expect this outcome. Even if they had known that one of the Maidens were there, their power usually focuses on control over the elements. Despite that theory, however, the Maiden used a different power that Salem had not seen before. It was infuriating, but also… astonishing.

"HOW COULD MY CREATION FAIL!? IT WAS A MASTERPIECE! MY CREATIONS HAVE NEVER FAILED!" Merlot roared.

Salem rolled her eyes, slightly annoyed at the scientist's immature rage. " **Must you behave like a child, Merlot?** " she asked.

"What would have me do!" Merlot exclaimed, still enraged.

" **Learn from your mistake. We saw that the silver haired young man is not only proficiently skilled in combat, but…** " she pointed to a paused image of the Fall Maiden. " **He seems to be quite the teacher, having helped her become much more powerful.** "

Merlot looked back and forth between the image and Salem. "How do you expect to outwit a man like that!? It's like he's prepared for anything!"

" **A true and devious tactician.** " Salem noted, amazed at Xehanort's ability. She looked back at Merlot with a grim smile. " **If he wishes to play this way… then we shall have no choice but to play by the same rules.** "

Merlot looked at her with confusion. "And how do we do that?" he asked, unsure if he could use the same strategic ability as the bane of the Mother of Grimm's life.

Salem waved her undamaged hand at the eye, shifting the image to that of Xehanort. " **We need only be patient. Observe him… take a leave out of the Fall Maiden's book, and learn from him.** " As she looked at his image, her eyes began to glow. " **And in time… he will be begging for his life.** "

…

"I must say, I haven't had an evening that eventful in a long time."

Ozpin and Glynda were currently helping the John and Carla with the repairs to their house. With the telekinesis Semblance at her disposal, Goodwitch was able to reassemble the house, while Ozpin assisted John in finding the different parts of the debris.

John looked up at Ozpin with a small smile. "Same here." He admitted. "Thanks for helping us with the repairs, by the way."

"Think nothing of it." Ozpin said as he held part of a window frame. "We're just simply lending a hand as Huntsmen."

Carla, who was sweeping up fragments of class, looked over at Ozpin with a smile of gratitude. "Still, it was kind of you to help. And… if I may, thank you for helping in the fight, Miss Goodwitch."

The Headmaster's assistant and Huntress nodded. "I wasn't certainly going to stand by when a Grimm was causing trouble." She said. "Besides, seeing what that creature was able to do, it looked like they needed help all the same."

Ozpin grinned. "It certainly looked like an interesting fight." He said. "Such a shame I wasn't able to do more."

"Guess fighting with Xehanort took a lot out of you, huh?" John joked.

Ozpin chuckled slightly at the joke. However, he wasn't too far off, either. The silver haired youth had proven to be a lot more skilled than any huntsman than he had ever seen. Also, he was able to use abilities that looked like it came from a Semblance. However, after going against him in that fight, he couldn't sense one off of him.

Granted, he fought so well it didn't seem like he needed one.

"Xehanort must have had a good teacher if he was able to hold his own like that." the Headmaster said.

"He said he learned it from a guy when he was really young. He must've been as tough a trainer as him if Xehanort's that good."

Carla then realised something. "Speaking of Xehanort, where is he?"

"Amber's not here either." John pointed out. after a second, he accidently let off a slight chuckle. "Wonder where they are?"

…..

"Woo-HOOOOOO! I was AWESOME!"

Amber and Xehanort were some distance away from the house. The reason for this was because Amber was ecstatic about having managed to get the hang of her magic. The ability she used to demolish the enhanced Beowolf had been something, according to the memories she had from the other Maidens, was something that no one had ever managed to do before.

As she was celebrating, Xehanort was resting up against a tree, examining something in his hand while he was waiting for Amber to calm down. He was holding a vial of the orange substance that had been left behind after the beast faded away. Seeing how that creature was something he had never seen, he summarised that this formula had something to do with its complete resistance to attacks.

He had to admit. Whoever created this was a genius.

" _This formula… being ablr to enhance ones strength, power and to make them immune to the elemants…_ " he gripped the vial slightly tighter as his dark smile returned. " _Humanity wouldn't stand a chance if more Grimm were given this._ "

Amber went up to Xehanort directly, snapping him out of his thoughts as a smug-looking Amber came up to him. "And you said I wouldn't be able to pull it off even if I had a million years."

Xehanort rolled his eyes. "Yes, yes, I saw it. You've learned how to use your power properly. Anything else you'd like to add?" he asked in a bored tone.

Amber was about to playfully mock him when her eyes caught the sight of the vial. "Is that the stuff from the Beowolf?" she asked.

Xehanort brought his eyes back to the formula. "Indeed it is. Whoever made this certainly has quite the talent."

"… Wait… someone MADE that thing!?" she asked in disbelief. "Who would do something like that!?"

Xehanort held the vial up into the air, trying to see it better in the light. "I'd wager someone with a distorted vision on how the world should be." He stated. "There are people out there with a vision that they believe would benefit mankind, when all they're doing is leading themselves astray, into madness even, by continuing down their respective… and worthless paths."

Xehanort lowered the vial. " _I guess… I can relate in that regard._ " He thought to himself.

Amber folded her arms and tilted her head to one side. "So… who do you think did it?"

Xehanort pondered on Amber's question for a moment. However, afterward, he grinned, realizing full-well who the culprit could've been. " _A man who has been experimenting with body enhancements and Grimm… my word, you have been busy._ " He looked back at Amber and shrugged. "Who knows. Whoever they are, tough, I doubt they will end it there."

Amber nodded in agreement. "Yeah, we'll have to keep our guard up." He started to walk back to the house, wanting to check how things are going. She stopped when she noticed that Xehanort hadn't moved. "Huh Xehanort, aren't you coming?"

Xehanort looked over at Amber with a blank expression. "There wouldn't be any point." He answered.

"What are you talking about?" Amber asked him.

Xehanort pushed himself off of the tree and stared up into the sky. "When I agreed to train you, I told you that my reason was that I couldn't let anyone with that amount of power go around with it when they've no clue on how to use it. However, you've shown that you've gained full mastery over it." he looked back at her. "Not to mention your combat prowess has certainly improved."

"I… sorry, I'm still a little lost." Amber admitted.

Xehanort lightly shook his head with a small smile, partially expecting something like this from her. "You've learned all that I have to teach you. As such, there is no reason for me to be here anymore."

With that, the penny dropped, and Amber had a look of surprise of her face. After a few seconds of silence. "You're leaving, huh?" she said, her tone less enthusiastic than before.

"As I said, there is no purpose for me here." Xehanort said. "I thought you'd be thrilled. You were always complaining about how I was always being a bother."

Amber had to admit, she did say that an awful lot. It's not that she wanted Xehanort to stay that badly or anything, but… he had been living with them for so long, they pretty much got used to him being around. Plus, it was thanks to him that they were all alive today, so…

Amber shook her head as she brought herself out of her thoughts. She looked back at Xehanort. "So,… what are you going to do from here?"

"Isn't it obvious?" he asked. "I will continue to learn as much about this world as possible, uncover what it has to offer."

Amber slumped, an exasperated look present on her face. "Of course, why did I bother asking?"

With that Xehanort began to walk off. Amber saw him walk, but did nothing to stop him. Knowing Xehanort, once he made a decision, no force in existence could change his mind. As such she simply said "Try not to get yourself killed."

"That's what I should be saying to you." He said. he stopped for a brief moment, looking behind his shoulder at the Fall Maiden. "Until we meet again." With that, he was covered in a mass of dark energy, completely obscuring him. Two seconds later, the darkness vanished, as did he.

Amber folded her arms and looked at where Xehanort stood, a cocky smile present on her face. "Show off." She muttered.

Before she decided to go back to the house, she looked up into the sky. She saw that it was starting to get dark, and that the stars were making themselves known. As she did, she remembered Xehanort talking about the possibility of those stars being other worlds.

"I wonder what it would be like to visit them?" she thought, a spark of wonder and anticipation showing in her eyes.

…

Merlot was alone in his laboratory, continuing to study the formula he created.

Salem had left some time ago, deciding that she needed to return to her lair to think more on how to deal with this… 'Xehanort'. The man who had been able to exploit the fatal weakness that his formula had. In all honesty, he assumed that the enhanced ability of the Grimm would compensate for this, but the silver haired youth had proven him wrong.

Naturally, he was now determined to create a formula that would help to bring an end to him, and make his new master and benefactor happy.

"she said that we need to give it time, but what does she know!?" he exclaimed, the frustration getting to him. "she didn't have her life's work dissolved before her eyes, her greatest accomplishment torn away from her. Soon, I will find that man and bring an end t-"

Before he could finish with his rant, he heard a sound. It sounded like the noise of a piece of metal falling to the ground, nothing major, but it was enough to make him jump. He got up onto his feet and picked up an empty glass flask.

Slowly, he made his way to where he heard the sound of the metal falling. He looked and, much to his relief, saw that it was only an old scalpel that he left on one of the shelves. They were always on the ground for one reason or another. Not properly placed, rats bumping into them, etc.

He picked up the tool and put it back on the shelf, making his way back to his work desk.

However, he instantly froze and paled with horror when he saw someone sitting in his chair.

"Good evening, professor."

Before Merlot was the target that Salem had set het sights on. The silver haired man who fought efficiently with the key-shaped sword.

"You… you're the one… you're…"

"Xehanort." The Keyblade Master said. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Doctor."

Merlot felt his throat dry up and his legs trembling. "You… you know who I am?"

"Your work was made public not too long ago. Basically, trying to enhance the Grimm and weaponizing them. Not a bad idea… though you were foolish enough to involve human test dummies."

"Their deaths were necessary for my research." Merlot said. "My work would've saved the Kingdoms in the long run, had the fools who discredited me not been so blinded."

Xehanort rolled his eyes at the Doctor. "Perhaps we can continue this discussion another time." He said. "There's a question I need answering."

"I won't tell you anything!" Merlot yelled at Xehanort.

The Keyblade Master raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Touchy, are we? Then perhaps there _is_ something you know."

Merlot, realising his mistake, tried to bolt for the emergency exit. However, Xehanort warped in front of him, holding the tip of his weapon at Merlot's throat.

"Just tell me what I wish to know and I will spare you. Why did you wish to attack the Autumns?"

"I-I won't tell you anything." Merlot stuttered.

Growing tired of Merlot's resistance, Xehanort pulled the weapon back and used his free hand to fire a Dark Firaga spell. It flew past the Doctor's head, impacting with the wall behind. Merlot slowly turned his head to see what had happened, only to feel very faint after seeing that the spell had created a large hole in the wall that was at least twenty feet in diameter.

"That was just a taste of what I will do to you if you don't tell me what I want to know." Xehanort stated.

Seeing that he had no other option, Merlot gave in and began explaining what was going on. "Th… the autumn family wasn't the target. It was you, you were the target."

This caught Xehanort's interst, having already theorised that someone found out about her being the Fall Maiden and wished her dead. "Oh?"

"She… she wanted you dead for having bested her five years ago. She was adamant on wanting you dead."

"She?" Xehanort asked.

"Salem. Her name is Salem."

After Merlot's confession, Xehanort was stone cold silent as he let the words sink in. however, he broke the silence after letting off a slight, dark chuckle, which worked to unnerve Merlot even more.

"Well… the Mother of Grimm has decided to come out of her hidy-hole, eh?" he said. "If that's the case, where is she now?"

"I don't know. She only came to me to enlist my help, and to bring me the materials for my experiments."

Xehanort sighed with disappointment, seeing that he had lost another opportunity to find and kill his target. "I see… I guess it can't be helped ten." He said, dismissing his Keyblade and turning away from Merlot.

When Xehanort heard the scientist collapse to the ground, he suddenly remembered the other reason as to why he sought to track Merlot. An easy enough job, as the stench of Darkness was foul enough to make him known to any dark being.

"Oh… one more thing, Doctor." Xehanort clicked his fingers, followed by several parts of Merlot's lab catching fire. The flames began to spread, engulf ing anything that came across their path. Even some of the green Grimm that Merlot hadn't injected with the new formula didn't stand a chance as they too were caught up in the flames.

Merlot looked on at what was happening, seeming to be in agony from watching this. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? YOU SAID-"

"I said I would spare you." Xehanort interrupted, his eyes filled with dark intent. "Your work, on the other hand, I find bothersome. What you do from here… all up to you." He said as he warped out of the lab.

Merlot looked around, watching the fir take away everything he had worked so hard to achieve. As his mind slowly cracked from the pressure, his eyes began to water from the heart ache. All he could do now was fall to his knees and watch as he lost it all.

He had become so numb that he didn't even notice when the flames began to engulf him to, as he slowly died what would've been an agonising death, had he not already gone through his version of hell already.

…..

On the outside, more specifically a remote Island where Merlot had continued his research, Xehanort rested on the sand of a small beach, with several robotic limbs had been littered, as well as some intact, but heavily damaged, robots were lying still and irreparable.

Xehanort was able to handle the robot guards that Merlot created easily enough.

"So, Salem… you wish to brig the fight to me… after all this time…" a dark aura seemed to form around Xehanort. "In that case… Salem. I will happily oblige." With that, he opened a corridor of Darkness, passing through as he continued on his journey to locate the being, prepared to do whatever it took to complete his task.

"You will fall… just like the rest…."

 **Aaaaaaand with that I'm going to leave it here. Wowza, let me tell you, this was one tough chapter to right. Combined with not having much time to write it, it's been a pain trying to get it done. But, nonetheless, I managed to complete it, the last chapter before we head into Volume 1 territory, and I say it ain't that bad. However that isn't for me to judge. If there was something you liked or disliked, don't be afraid to speak your mind, and be as brutal as possible if you feel the need to, just mind to avoid the flaming.**

 **Right, that's my extra bit, but before I sign off:**

 **KH fan: Glad you like the story so far. I can't really give you much information for the questions you asked, aside from what happened to Merlot (sorry if you didn't like it but had it planned and I didn't want to go back on it). As for the rest, I'm still not a 100% sure about how to go about it, but I'm definitely going to try and make it interesting.**

 **Guest: True, he was nicer here, but since she reminded him of Riku, who ireckon he sees as a worthy advisory (if I'm wrong, please correct me), he would be less dark… and for other reasons which will be revealed later.**

 **Vigriff: I think I know the one you're on about. 'Fate No Heart', right?**

 **ChunkyFunkyMunky: Fair enough. No harm in trying though, right? Plus I thought it would act as a decent springboard to get the rest of the story going.**

 **Antex-The Legendary Zoroark: Glad to see you liked it. Also, thanks for pointing out that blip I made, sorry about that.**

 **The Baz: Well, I reckoned that since Ozpin's power was so weak by now that it would be extremely difficult to trace. I thought I'd give that theory a go.**

 **hpmagic1: Thanks for pointing out the blip I made, sorry I missed it, and glad to hear you enjoyed that chapter.**

 **Right, oh, and just one more thing. I've decided to completely scrap the idea for a 'Fairy Tail: Dark Void' reboot since I've had trouble making progress on it, and instead decided to work on a Fairy Tail story on its own. Can't say when it will be published, but I'll still be giving it a go.**

 **Right, see you all later, have a nice day, and don't forget to review ;-).**


	5. Chapter 5

"EVERYONE! RUN!"

A settlement was currently under attack. At first, the people living there were going about their business, the children were being schooled, the adults were working away and the elderly were either resting in their homes or keeping busy with their hobbies.

Sadly… that had quickly come to an end today.

For whatever reason, a large pack of Beowolves had charged into the area. The moment that everyone saw them coming, they were all filled with panic. Most of them had ran away with their families, ensuring that they were safe. Others had stayed behind, either out of fear of leaving their homes, afraid that it would give the Beowolves a chance to slaughter them, or to try and fight back against the Grimm.

Two of those that have chosen to stand up and fight, one wielding a pitchfork and the other holding a plank of wood, put on brave faces as one of the Beowolves stood before them.

The pitchfork wielder looked over to the person holding the plank. "Think we can take it?" he asked.

The Beowolf roared out, causing several loose pieces on the ground to rattle.

"…" the one holding the plank paled after that, looking close to wetting himself. "I'm out."

With that, he dumped the wood and ran off. The pitchfork wielder looked at his friend go, his jaw hanging slightly as he saw his friend abandon him so easily. He looked back at the Beowolf, partially sure that its eyes were starting to glow more intensely.

"Gee, thanks bud." He said with a deadpanned tone.

With that, the Beowolf decide now was time for the kill, leaping up into the air with its claws outstretched, intending to tear him apart.

The human held up the pitchfork, aiming the prongs toward the Beowolf, shutting his eyes tightly as he hope that he would be able survive what he knew would come.

* _SLASH_ *

The man cringed as he heard something slashing the air. Part of him was sure that it was the claws of the Beowolf, and that it struck him. After a few seconds, however, he realised that he was feeling no pain. He slowly opened his eyes, curious as to what was going on.

"Never take your eyes off an opponent."

The man widened his eyes, seeing a younger man presumably in his mid-twenties, silver hair and a black trench coat stood before him. He seemed to be holding a key-shaped sword.

He turned around, glaring at the pitchfork wielder.

"Do you have a death wish, or are you simply _that_ idiotic?" he asked, his tone being quite sharp.

"H-Hey! I was trying to fight them off!" he said back.

Xehanort narrowed his eyes. "You'd have been better off running. There is no point in throwing away your life unnecessarily." He said sternly.

This caused the pitchfork wielder to pause. Seeing as he had been given time to think, he realized that the silver haired fighter had a point. He was about to say something when he heard several howls coming from different directions. Both men turned and saw that several Beowolves had suddenly surrounded them.

"Whoa! What the… why are there so many here now!?" he asked, thinking that some may have scattered back into the woods.

Xehannort didn't look around, favouring instead to lower his gaze to his free hand, where shards of dark ice were forming. "I welcoming party for me, I'd imagine." Xehanort explained, with a small leer on his face. He saw a look of confusion on the pitchfork wielder's face and said "The Grimm and I have a less than pleasant history."

Before the pitchfork wielder could asked what the keybearer was talking about, some of the Beowolves charged at them. Xehanort knocked the pitchfork wielder to the ground, followed by impaling the ground with his Keyblade.

The pitchfork wielder, after recovering from the Keybearer's attack, looked up and saw the Beowolves homing in on him.

"HEY! WATCH O-"

"Annihilate!" he exclaimed.

Upon verbalizing the command, several pillars of stone, all of which with talon-like spike on top, shot up from the ground, impaling any Grimm that got close.

As this happened, Xehanort jumped high into the air, not wanting to the impaled himself, noting how a few of the Grimm were knocked into the air as well. Xehanort also looked to where the man he met had landed, seeing that he was at a safe distance from the range of the spell.

Deciding not to leave the job unfinished, Xehanort zoomed towards one of the airborne Beowolves. He latched onto the mask of the Beowolf, ensuring that his grip would hold. He then latch another hand onto the shoulder of the beast, followed using is strength to tear off the Grimm's head.

He turned and saw another Beowolf flying toward him. This one looked like it was about strike Xehanort, claws outstretched and ready to tear him open.

Xehanort wasn't planning on letting this creature make a fool of him. As such, the Keyblade Master swung the decapitated head of the last Beowolf and, before it would start to fade away, it struck the neck of the oncoming Grimm. The jaw of the head was open at the time, so when it latched on, Xehanort pulled it back, tearing out the throat of the other Beowolf.

As Xehanort allowed himself to fall, he saw that the pillars had stopped shooting up from the ground. This made it easier to land, and to see several shredded Grimm corpses scattered across the damaged ground.

He landed with a crouch, slowly getting up as he was scanning the area. From the looks of things, that new spell he was working on had worked, making quick work of the dark beasts. Xehanort got the idea for this attack after he remembered Lexaeus, one of the members of the first Organization XIII. He considered him a useful ally underling when he was in the original organization, but aligned himself with the lights after he became a complete person.

He was the best when it came to physical strength, having manipulation over earth. It wasn't an element the Xehanort had much interest in at the time, but he couldn't deny the benefits it offered.

Xehanort turned around and saw the people of the village returning, all of them looking awestruck by what they had seen.

Xehanort raised an eyebrow at them. "Nothing to say?"

….

"T-Thank you, good sir. You saved our home. You-"

Xehanort raised a hand, prompting the leader of the settlement to stop speaking.

"I've no need for a long thanks, sir." Xehanort said. "I saw the Grimm, I cut them down without hesitation." He continued, holding a glass of water in his hand.

After the Keyblade Master practically tore the Grimm to pieces, he was invited to rest in the local in that was built for any travelers passing through. The leader of the area, a small, elderly, chubby man who required a cane to move around, went over to Xehanort to personally thank him for what he had done for them.

Xehanort was irked by the interruption, having been trying to meditate and relax after having used the earth spike attack. He hadn't had much practice with it before, and it used up quite a bit of energy. Nevertheless, the spell proved more than effective.

The leader laughed nervously. "M-My bad. I just wanted to show you how much we all appreciate your assistance."

Xehanort raised an eyebrow. "Really?" he asked. "In that case… try to make sure that you have more resources to keep your home safe. You won't have a miracle popping up 'twenty four – seven' to help you." He pointed out.

The leader nodded in understanding. "That's a good idea… only, it won't be that simple."

"Oh?" Xehanort said, now slightly curious.

"Recently… we had to invest much of the village finance in payments we had to make a while ago. We weren't able to afford anything to keep our home safe. We can only afford the essentials. Food, mainly."

"…" Xehanort was surprised by this. He hadn't come across anyone who would drain that much finace from the village. He had come across a group of bandits called the 'Branwan Tribe', while they were vicious and merciless (Which appealed to Xehanort), they usually kept to themselves, and don't rely on stealing from a whole village at once.

Had they done so, they would've drawn more attention they would've liked to themselves.

"Who did you make the payment to?" Xehanort asked out of mild interest.

"The… the Schnee Dust Company."

At that, Xehanort felt like grinning an laughing, having felt like he should've guessed that one as well. "I see… 'controversial work methods' indeed." He said out loud.

He put a hand into his pocket and pulled something out. He saw a look of pure shock when the leader saw that it was a large deck of lien cards. Xehanort slammed them on the table they were both sitting at, followed by sliding it over to the leader.

"I believe _this_ should cover the cost of fortifying your home." Xehanort said.

"…" the leader couldn't say a word. He had never seen anyone carry that much lien at once. He looked back at the Keyblade Master, seeing him smiling back at him. Xehanort certainly found his reaction quite amusing.

"… I… I can't. I mean, I appreciate the gesture, but-"

"You're keeping it." Xehanort said bluntly. "Besides, this is considered a thanks on my part."

At this, the leader looked bewildered. "E… excuse me?"

Xehanort stood up and walked over towards the window of his room, holding his hands behind his back. "If the Schnee Dust Company are as corrupt as they say, and with you… 'unintentionally', proving it…" he formed a cruel smile on his face. "I'll have to pay them a visit at some point."

Xehanort turned to the bewildered leader, giving him a formal bow. "My apologies, but I must take my leave." He stood upright, walking towards the door. Before he made it to the door, however, Xehanort summoned a Corridor of Darkness where it was set, easily passing through.

After Xehanort made his exit, the Corridor faded away as quickly as it was formed. The leader of the village was still as a statue for a moment, the irregularity of it all being to much for him to handle. As such, after all he had seen, the only thing that he could do was faint.

"… Well... I'll be… that was…" he said as he slowly lost consciousness.

…..

Xehanort passed out of a dark corridor, entering a forest in the middle of the night.

"Well, that was entertaining… aside from that annoying village leader." He said, rubbing the side of his head.

When he felt that he head had recovered, if only slightly, he walked on, searching for his main destination in the dark woods. In recent years, Xehanort had gotten himself accustomed to resting in the wilderness. The main reason was so that he could remain in a more quiet and peaceful environment, allowing him to work on his combat and magic.

The other reason as to why he had decided to live in the woods was because of the fact that he couldn't stand to be around the other people of this world. Not that he had anything against them, but he simply found the task of talking to people tedious, and would try to avoid it when he could.

Xehanort couldn't help but grin at how stubborn he was acting, finally starting to act his age once more.

He eventually came to a stop, coming across a familiar-looking stream. He walked over to it and knelt by the bank, looking at his reflection in the mirror. He managed to get a better picture of what he was seeing thanks to the light of the shattered moon.

Xehanort looked up at the moon briefly, curious as to how that happened to the moon in the first place. He decided not to dwell on it much for now, instead turning back to the stream, scooping out several handfuls of water. When he was finished, he wiped his mouth with his arm and stood up, turning towards one of the nearby trees.

Picking one, he used some magic to warp over to the tree, resting his back on it and slid down. He looked at the stream once more, a small smile coming to his face.

' _The place where I first awoke in this world… how time flies…_ ' he thought. As he did, his mind brought up a mental picture of the brown-haired girl he schooled in combat and magic.

"How long has it been, Amber?" he asked out loud. "Five years?"

After Xehanort had left the Autumn household and eliminated Merlot's work, he had continued on with his search for the Mother of Grimm. His search had brought him all across the four Kingdoms, again, only this time he was much more thorough when with his search.

He had continued to take on the most dangerous jobs available. While most were a breeze for him, there were some that proved to be a bit of a challenge. His favorite had been when he went up against a heard of Goliaths, elephant-type Grimm. Having lived for so long, they had become a lot more intelligent than the Beowolves, Ursai, etc.

While he never had a base set up, as he didn't want to risk anyone finding them, he never needed much to live off of. His travelling allowed him to get a better lay of the Kingdoms, but, unfortunately, he hadn't been able to find Salem.

He reckoned soon into his search that she was located in another realm, but he hadn't been able to find a way into it. Since Salem was from this world, it meant that she had to still be in this world. She seemed to be a lot more crafty than she appeared, making sure that any and all ways in were unavailable to him.

"… at least you actually 'learned' something." He thought out loud.

He shook his head, trying to empty all the thoughts out of his head. He then re-positioned himself into a meditation form, clearing his mind as he allowed himself to relax.

"Time to rest." He said slowly before falling into a deep sleep.

(9 hours later)

After a long sleep, Xehanort raised his head, still not opening his eyes. He was still in a meditative stance, so he took the opportunity to clear his mind, helping to wake up more. After a couple of minutes, he slowly opened his eyes.

Needless to say, he was surprised when he saw that someone was sitting right in front of him.

This person had black, spiky hair, light facial hair, pale skin, wearing a grey shirt under a white coat, which had a red cape attached to it, black pants and black dress shoes. He was slightly hunched over, though his face was still in full view, while it was tilted to one side. He seemed to be quite calm and relaxed, as he had a bubble forming at his nose.

"…"

Xehanort looked at the man in question with a look of frustration. It looks like his meditation was a waste of time.

Xehanort stood up on his feet, not moving his gaze from the man. He summoned his Keyblade and swiped at the man, slicing the bubble. This woke the man up, making him jump and fall onto his back. He looked around, wondering what was going on. He looked up, seeing the Keyblade Master staring down at him, his amethyst eyes calm, but calculating.

"Who are you?" Xehanort asked the man.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Take it easy, man." The black-haired man said.

Xehanort slightly twitched his right eye, his nose picking up on a strong concentration of alcohol from him.

"Do you usually attack people that you meet?" the man with the cape asked, still recovering from the suddenness of it all.

"Only if I was trying to stay hidden, and if I find that some drunk was sitting in front of me while I slept." Xehanort answered.

The man was about to talk back, but he suddenly stopped, thinking about what to say back. After a few seconds, however, he shrugged.

"Fair enough." He said. He pointed his right thumb at himself. "The name's Qrow, by the way."

"… You know who I am, don't you?." He said.

Qrow shrugged his shoulders again. "Guess there's no point in hiding it." he said. He stood up and stretched his arms. "I'm a friend of certain someone you met a while ago. Ten years ago, actually."

"…" Xehanort raised an eyebrow. "Ten years… A woman in a white cloak?"

"The one and the same." Qrow said with a grin. "Caught sight of you while I was walking through the forest last night."

Xehanort gritted his teeth, cursing himself for not being more careful. In hindsight, he should've used the vanish spell to make himself invisible to any onlookers.

Qrow folded his arms and formed a smug look on his face. "I also happen to be acquainted with a someone you met a few years ago. Five, in fact." He started. "Just so you know, she's doin-"

He didn't get to finish. He was cut short when Xehanort brought his Keyblade up to Qrow's next, it was swift enough that it looked liked the blade itself warped up to Qrow's neck.

Qrow slowly rolled his eyes towards the blade, staring at the demonic-looking weapon with wide-eyed surprise. Said eyes rolled back over to Xehanort, who stared at Xehanort with a look of seriousness.

"… I, uh… guess I was a little too forward, huh?" Qrow said, trying to lighten the mood.

Xehanort didn't speak for a moment, instead he kept his glare at the drunk. As Qrow was about to say something else, though, Xehanort had chosen to speak.

"If you are speaking about who I think you are… then tell me how you came to know of her."

"Sure… uh… maybe we could start by you, I don't know… 'not' holding that thing to my neck?" Qrow suggested.

Reluctantly, Xehanort dispelled his Keyblade, taking a step back from the drunk. While unarmed, Xehanort kept himself ready, just in case he had need of the unique blade.

"Phew, thank's bud." Qrow started. "Now, to answer that last question of yours-"

"It wasn't a question." Xehanort interrupted, his glare seeming to try and burn a hole through the drunk.

"Right, right." Qrow said, a little annoyed at how the silver haired young man was acting. "The thing is, I know Amber because I'm with the guys who's job it is to keep people like her safe."

"The Maidens." Xehanort added.

"Bingo, kid." Qrow replied, a small smile forming on his face from seeing the slight scowl Xehanort made from being called a kid.

Xehanort decided to put it to one side… for now. "I assume this mean's you're Ozpin's lackey."

"More of an ally." Qrow amended, not liking the sound of anyone calling him a 'lackey'.

Xehanort turned and took a couple of steps forward, speaking as he did so. "So, what has Ozpin been up to since I had the… 'experience' of his company?"

"The guy's been keeping tabs on Amber for one thing." Qrow answered. "You may had made her stronger, but he still worries about her, y'know."

"Fair enough." Xehanort said.

"Plus…" Qrow began, pointing his right index finger up by his face. "The guy's been keeping himself busy running Beacon, so he pretty much keeps himself busy."

"Beacon… the Huntsman Academy?" Xehanort asked.

"The one and the same." Qrow said, reaching into his pocket, pulling out a small flask. Xehanort shook his head slightly at the sight, bewildered by how he could still drink, smelling like that. Qrow was about to take a sip when he saw something fall from the flask.

"Huh? Wha…" Qrow knelt down to see what had fallen, picking it up with his index and middle finger. After looking at it for a moment, a smile formed on his face.

"You're a sly one, Oz." Qrow said, standing back up again.

"Hm?" Xehanort looked over at Qrow, mild curiosity setting in.

Qrow looked over to Xehanort, holding out the piece of paper to him. "I think it's for you."

Now more curious, Xehanort took the paper from Qrow's grasp, quickly scanning it to see that it was a note.

 _Xehanort,_

 _I trust that, if you are reading this, then it means that you and Qrow have met._

 _I had a hunch you two would meet at some point, so I hid this note in the lining of Qrow's flask, making it easier for me to make you an offer._

 _Having seen how powerful you have made Amber, making her one of the strongest of the Maidens throughout history, I hoped that you would put that talent to further use. If I'm right, then by the time you get this note, the school year will have started up again, and I have need of a second combat instructor. It wouldn't be fair to give Glynda all the work, would it._

 _Yours Sincerely,_

 _Ozpin._

Xehanort shook his head. "And why exactly would I want to…"

Xehanort stopped mid-sentence, noticing that there was more writing on the back of the paper. He had almost missed it because it had become faded, more than likely from rubbing off against the material around Qrow's flask.

 _P.S,_

 _If you are not at first interested, then may I offer something in exchange? What it is, exactly, I won't say, but considering your curiosity, you would at least wish to come and learn what it is._

 _Interested?_

At this, Xehanort raised an eyebrow. This man claimed to have something in his possession that would convince him to waste his time teaching a group of children how to fight. While unlikely, he claimed to possess something that would greatly appeal to the Keyblade Master.

"… Curse my curiosity." He said, crumpling up the note and stuffing it into his pocket.

Qrow stared at Xehanort for a moment, curious as to what his answer would be. "So?"

Xehanort turned to Qrow, raising an eyebrow questioningly.

"You gonna take the job?" Qrow asked the Keyblade Master.

"…" Xehanort didn't say anything at first. Instead, he raised a hand and clicked his fingers. A Corridor of Darkness then appeared beside him, making Qrow jump back in response.

"Let's see what he has to offer, at least." Xehanort stated, ignoring the look of surprise on Qrow's face.

….

"Are you sure this was wise, Professor?"

In Beacon Academy, the school to train Huntsmen and Huntresses that resembled a fortress rather than a school, the office of the Headmaster was faintly lit, with only Ozpin, nursing a cup of cocoa, while Gltnda was glaring at him.

Ozpin looked up from his cup, a relaxed look on his face. "You seem worried, Glynda." He noted, getting up from his seat. "Care for something to drink?" he then asked, pulling out a pot that, unsurprisingly, had more cocoa in it.

"How can you NOT be!?" Glynda exclaimed. "We barely know anything of this man, even Amber was only able to get vague pieces of information from him! Not to mention he wasn't hesitant to cause you serious harm the last time you fought!"

Ozpin grinned, rubbing his right shoulder as he recalled the duel between him and the silver haired youth. "And what a fight it was." He quipped.

Glynda sighed in annoyance, seeing that she wasn't going to be able to get the professor to understand what she was trying to imply. Instead, she took out her scroll, checking one a number of appointments and times.

"When do you think he will arrive?" she asked the Headmaster.

"If I'm right, soon after he and Qrow make contact." Ozpin answered.

At that, Glynda looked up from her scroll, widening her eyes with surprise. "Q-Qrow!? Sir, don't tell me you se-"

Glynda wasn't able to finish what she was about to say, as they were interrupted by sudden wave of energy that was sent their way. It wasn't enough to cause any damage, but it was enough for them to turn and see something in front of the elevator doors.

A large orb of darkness was standing before them, making Ozpin stand up and narrow his gaze, while Glynda widened her eyes, pulling out her riding crop.

A split second later, something jumped out of the portal, tumbling onto the floor, stopping right before the Headmaster's desk.

"… Qrow?" Ozpin asked, slightly surprised.

The Huntsman in question lifted his head, giving Ozpin a smirk and a two-fingered salute. "Hey, Oz."

"Hope I didn't startle anyone."

All heads turned back to the large dark orb, Ozpin and Glynda widening their eyes in sudden recognition of the voice. A second later, someone walked out of the darkness, soon revealing himself to be the silver haired warrior from before. However, this time he was wearing a black button shirt, navy jeans, black sneakers and a charcoal jacket that had a light grey symbol of a goat on his left shoulder.

Xehanort looked down at Qrow. "Hope I didn't hurt you too much." He said to Qrow, sarcastically.

The Veteran Huntsman shrugged his shoulders. "Meh. I've had worse." Qrow answered back, standing back on his feet. He put his hands in his pockets and turned back to Ozpin, motioning his head towards the Keyblade Master.

"Found him." He said with a smirk.

Xehanort walked up to the desk, keeping a sharp eye on the assistant as he did, in case she tried something. However, he kept a calm expression on his face. "Tell me, Ozpin. What would be of so much interest to me that I would accept your offer?"

"… Straight to the point, I see." Ozpin noted. "Not even going to ask how things have been during the last five years?"

"Answer the question." Xehanort said sternly.

Glynda glared at Xehanort, not happy with his approach to speaking with Professor Ozpin. The Headmaster, however, nodded in understanding.

"Very well." Ozpin started, standing up and grabbing onto his cane, walking over to the window. "I know that you have a fondness for knowledge, Xehanort. Forbidden knowledge, especially. The type that many would both do anything to achieve… and lose themselves to if they fall too deep."

"Only for those with weak minds." Xehanort said. "If you wish to gain the knowledge, one would best prepare for the consequences."

"Quite right." Ozpin noted, turning back to Xehanort. "In exchange for you teaching the students this year how to fight, I will allow you to learn of this knowledge."

"…" Xehanort wasn't sure about Ozpin's offer. For all he knew, the Headmaster could've been trying to trick him, get him to agree to something and leave him unable to back out. However, Ozpin hasn't shown himself to be a deceitful person. Vague, perhaps, but still.

After sighing, Xehanort said "Inform me of this… and I will consider it."

With a smirk, Ozpin walked over towards the elevator. The portal had disappeared, allowing the Headmaster to easily access the controls. He pressed the button to call the lift. He turned back towards Xehanort, a calm but friendly look on his face.

"Then let's have a look… shall we?"

…

"Hmph."

Two weeks had passed since Xehanort had come to Beacon Academy. After their first meeting, Xehanort had agreed to Ozpin's offer, becoming one of the members of staff.

Today, the students would be arriving by Bullhead, a name for the large airships of this world. Not nearly as convenient as his Corridors of Darkness, but it isn't exactly available to everyone. Added with the side effects of overuse to those who aren't either atune with the darkness, or with hearts of pure light, then perhaps the Bullheads were the best option for now.

Xehanort had decided to watch the students enter the school, curious to see who he was going teaching for this year. Since he was going to be a professor, Glynda had told him that he needed to dress more formally.

However, Xehanort was never fond of other people giving him orders.

So, today he was wearing a black button shirt, light blue denim jeans, an elastic, fabric band with the gazing eye symbol stitched on, and his previous dark sneakers.

"Ho-Ho! Waiting for the new students, are we?"

Xehanort turned around, seeing an elderly man with a curly mustache, wearing a red suit with yellow designs and buttons added in. At this point, Xehanort had to fight the urge to summon a Corridor of Darkness under his feet and send him into the Emerald Forest.

"Professor Port… I assume you're here to see what is happening as well?" Xehanort asked him.

Professor Port shook his head. "No, I was actually looking for Professor Oobleck. You didn't happen to see him, did you?"

Xehanort grinned. "3, 2, 1…"

"AH! There you are!"

Port jumped high into the air upon hearing the new voice. when he landed, he turned to see a man with wild, green hair, spectacles, a while shirt with a yellow armbabd around one of his arms, a yellow tie, grey pants and dress shoes.

"Oh, Bartholomew, I do ask that you refrain from doing that in the future." Port begged of Professor Oobleck.

"And spoil the fun?" Xehanort asked, causing Oobleck to smirk and Port to frown at him. "That was nearly as amusing as your reaction seeing that mouse in the staff room yesterday."

"Those monsters only bring disease and famine!" Port yelled back.

"I'm sure you're mistaking them with rats." Xehanort pointed out. "While I don't deny a mouse' capacity, rats are more likely to take action in that regard."

"That doesn't change anything!" Port cried.

"… Hmph." Xehanort found this man unbelievable from time to time, and not in a good way. His hubris was quite apparent, always going on about stories of his younger days, to which the Keyblade Master suspected were only a quarter true. Nevertheless, however, he was a skilled huntsmean, and knew how to teach… just so long as he didn't decide to use the lectures as an excuse to tell his stories again. Xehanort was close to slicing him into pieces after he had droned on about some tale to do with a Goliath Grimm.

"Well, I hope your fear doesn't affect your teaching, my friend." Oobleck stated. He looked over towards Xehanort. "And you? How are you set, young man?"

Xehanort, admittedly, found Oobleck easier to deal with. He seemed to have a serious caffeine addiction, always drinking as much coffee as Ozpin drank Cocoa, making him both ridiculously fast on his feet, but his speech was also sped up, making it hard to understand from time to time. But, he was serious about educating people about history, as he hoped it would help people to not make the same mistakes made in the past. As history was also his hobby, it made it easier for the coffee addict to waver, and speak more of different events that happened around that time. Xehanort could only imaging the looks of confusion and bewilderment from trying to catch up with him, though.

"I have everything I need." Xehanort stated. "The only thing I will need to be wary of his not to go overboard during the practical sessions."

At that, Port and Oobleck raised their eyebrows respectively.

"Practical? Isn't combat class only practical?" Port asked him.

"Normally, however there is a theory that I have come up with a while ago before I came here." Xehanort stated. "If I am correct, than it will require theory sessions… not that I would waste time with any books."

"WHAT!?" Oobleck cried, rushing up to Xehanort. "WHYWOULDYOUIGNOREBOOKSTHEYARESOMEOFTHEMOSTIMPORTANTRESOURCESWEHAVEATOURDISPOSALHAVEYOU-"

"You may think so." Xehanort interrupted. "But the students won't learn as efficiently if they are reading text. They may just end up daydreaming instead." he stated. he was never a fan of book learning when it came to teaching, knowing that people learned better through action than text.

Port smiled underneath his mustache, catching onto what Xehanort was saying. "Ah. Planning on a new style of teaching?" he asked the Keyblade Master.

"Of sorts." Xehanort said with a smirk.

Before any of the three could say anymore, they heard a faint humming noise in the distance. They turned their heads and saw that it was a bullhead coming their way. It soon landed, opening the doors to let the students out. One of the first to come out was a boy with blond hair, heading for the nearest trash bin and vomiting into it.

" _Doesn't look like he handled the trip over very well._ " Xehanort thought. " _I'll have to put some more effort into training that boy, if I am correct._ " He continued to think, sighing mentally.

Soon he saw two more students make their way out of the ship. One was a young woman with long, wild blond hair and lilac eyes, striding along with confidence. From the look of her, Xehanort could tell that she was a hothead, and would need to learn a lot about self-control and patience before going out into the real world.

The other student he saw…

"!" Xehanort widened his eyes for a moment when he saw the other girl.

This girl had short black hair with red highlights, pale skin and silver eyes. She looked younger than the other students, fifteen maybe, and seemed enthusiastic about being here. Xehanort couldn't help but notice how her eyes seemed glued to everyone's weapons.

" _That girl… she looks like…_ " Upon realizing it, Xehanort grinned. " _I hope you prove to be as strong as your mother, Rose._ " He thought, curious to see if this girl had the same potential as Summer, who he presumed to be this girl's mother.

Xehanort was abut to turn away, having already gotten bored, when one more student caught his eye. This student in question wad another girl, with long black hair, yellow eyes, a calm, cool demeanor. What also distinguished herself from everyone else was a pair of cats ears on her head.

"…" Xehanort closed his eyes and lowered his head, letting off a small laugh as he did.

This didn't go unnoticed by the History teacher, who looked toward the Keyblade Master with a curious expression. "Are you alright, Xehanort?"

Xehanort looked back at Oobleck and nodded. "Yes. All is well." He said before turning around. "I think I shall go back to my quarters. I have something I need to attend to before the opening ceremony." He said before walking off.

"Fair enough." Oobleck said before turning to Port. "Let's go Peter. I hear tey're srving more coffee at the moment." He said before dashing off to the cafeteria. Port only chuckled before he followed on, walking at his own pace.

As Xehanort also walked on, he let off a slight laugh as he thought back to another thing tha happened five years ago. He stopped for a momet, raisng a hand and summoning his Keyblade.

"I see you gave up the bow… Belladonna." He said. "Now we shall see how strong your resolve has become."

He dispelled the weapon and was about to continue walking, when he heard the sound of someone coughing behind him. From the sound of it, someone was trying to get his attention. He sighed with annoyance from this.

"I have no time for your 'rules and regulations' speech, Goodwitch. Please leave me be."

"Good thing I'm not Glynda."

At the sound of the voice, Xehanort froze. Thinking he made a mistake, that the person he thought was standing behind him wasn't the same person, he turned around to make sure. His eyes widened when he saw that it was in fact the same person.

Standing before him, with her hair much longer than before, now wearing a blouse, black skirt and high heels, was the girl he had trained previously into a powerful being.

"What's wrong? Too hot for you to handle?" Amber asked him, posing in a way to purposefully annoy Xehanort."

At this point of time, Xehanort had only one thing to say to her.

"This is going to be a long year." He said, walking away and ignoring the hysterical laughter coming from his former pupil.

 **Right, I'm going to leave it at that for now.**

 **As said, I've decided to move along into the Volume 1 area, since I was actually keen to get here anyway. For those of you who want to know what Ozpin had offered Xehanort to get him to join, and how Amber came to Beacon, All will be revealed in time… which, admittedly, is a long time when it comes to me, sorry.**

 **Nevertheless, it was fairly fun writing this chapter, glad to get back to it. If anyone has anything to say, like what they thought of if there's anything to be improved on, feel free to Review of PM if you want, a bit of feedback always helps.**

 **Also, one more thing. I'm going to be publishing another story soon, I wouldn't mind if I got some feedback on it as well when it's out. What it is and what it's about… you'll have to wait I'm afraid, sorry.**

 **Right, before I sign off, I want to apologize for keeping both everyone who was reading waiting, I'm fairly slow when it comes to the updates. And sorry those I haven't responded to that had questions. So:**

 **ChunkyFunkyMunky: Sorry, but I'm sticking with it.**

 **Antex-The Legendary Zoroark: The reason Salem didn't heal is because I reckon that's she's a super evolved Grimm, one who's able to think, plan, etc, you know. And since Grimm can't heal, I decided to apply that factor to her as well. But don't worry, there's still more to this Salem than there seems ant the moment.**

 **Raximus: Thank you.**

 **The Baz: Xehanort was able to locate Merlot because he had sniffed him out, that being his dark scent. I believe that the darkness in people can also be unique, and Xehanort could pick up on Merlot's unique form of darkness. Thoughts?**

 **KH fan: Yep, he's a teacher now.**

 **guest: Yes and no. Yes, they're all the same person, and no, Xehanort is the human while Ansem is the Heartless. You got Xemnas right, though.**

 **Guest: You certainly put a lot of work into that theory, fair play to you. Just a note, though, while Xehanort can summon Heartless, he's actually human. Still, it was awesome ;-)**

 **GuestWithIdeas: Are you sure you don't want to get into the story writing yourself? You're ideas a amazing! And, if you're still okay with it, I'd like to have a go of incorporating it in a way into the story when I get the chance.**

 **Guest: Interesting question. We'll see in the future.**

 **JB Fiction: Ask and you shall receive… eventually. Sorry for the wait.**

 **Right, with that, hope you all liked this chapter, sorry again for the long wait, sadly I can't constantly my stories (dang job!), and I'll get the new story out when I can. See you all later, have a nice day.**


	6. Chapter 6

Xehanort had expected a number of things after entering the Academy. Ranging from annoying brats who had fantastic dreams that were beyond achievement to educators who seemed to not understand how to do their jobs, considering how Oobleck and Port seem to approach their professions. He was also quite keen for Ozpin to hold up his end of the bargain by the time the school year ended, if the man was a s trustworthy as he claimed to be.

However… this is the _last_ thing he had expected when agreeing to work at Beacon.

"So, How's things with yourself?"

Xehanort calmly and slowly walked down the hallway, a scowl across his face as he was now walking beside who he considered to be the most annoying person in this world. Nevertheless, he did his best not to use a Corridor of Darkness to make his escape from the Maiden.

Shaking off his scowl, he looked back at the woman with a look of curiosity. "As of now, quite surprised to see you here, dressed as a member of staff." He said.

Amber merely shrugged her shoulders. "What can I say? A lot can happen in five years."

"Apparently." Xehanort said, not stopping.

As they walked on, there was soon a silence between the two, which Xehanort preferred, while Amber was trying to think of something to say to break the silence.

"… So… Why'd you decide to work here?" she asked.

"Ozpin offered me a down payment in exchange for my services." He answered.

This peaked Amber's interest. "Oh? What could be so valuable that could have you work in a place like this?" she asked.

"That is none of your concern." Xehanort answered, which caused Amber to slump forward.

"Geez, you still haven't gotten a sense of humor since I last saw you, have you?" the Maiden asked.

"I believe you know the answer already?" he answered. He then turned back towards his former apprentice. "So, how are your parents doing?"

"Oh!" Amber said, surprised that Xehanort would ask that kind of question. "Well, Dad's got a lot more successful with the farm, it helped them live a lot more comfortably. And Mon, well…" she scratched the side of her head before continuing. "Well, she's currently working at her own tailor business… while looking after Garnem."

At that, Xehanort raised an eyebrow. "Who's Garnem?" he asked.

It was then that Amber had a bright look on her face. "My Little brother, if you really want to know."

Xehanort then looked surprised by what he had just heard. He was, admittedly, surprised by this. Considering that, during the time that he spent with the Autumn family, the family seemed a bit too busy to have another child running around.

Then again, he's not above being proven wrong.

Xehanort looked forward before saying "That's interesting. What's the boy like?"

"Well, for a two-year-old, he's really fond of woodwork. We went to a carnival a couple months ago, and we saw a guy selling wooden toys. Instead of liking the toys, Garnem looked more interested in the tools the guy wore on the day." She explained. "Dad got a toy hammer and chisel and saw Garnem try to carve something out of a thick branch he found."

"A natural talent, eh?" Xehanort asked.

"Yeah, well, at least my parents think so." She answered. "I'm just happy he found something he likes doing. Took me up until I was thirteen to find a hobby."

"Indeed." Xehanort agreed, momentarily shocking Amber. "Then again, randomly flirting with people who you haven't seen in years isn't what I would call a hobby."

"Hey!" Amber yelled. "I only did that to mess with you!"

"I would hope so."

"I mean, seriously, I'd sooner French kiss Peter Port than get into a relationship with you."

"…"

As soon as she said that, both herself and Xehanort slowly turned shades of green, the very image making both magic users sick to their stomachs.

"… Why… how could you imagine that?" Xehanort said before clapping a hand over his mouth, trying to keep the bile down.

"I know… not my-" Amber wasn't about to finish as her cheeks suddenly puffed up. Making the effort to fight the bile, she looked back at Xehanort. "I need to go. See you at the entrance ceremony!"

With that, Amber raced off, looking for the nearest restroom to relieve herself of the rising contents of her stomach. Xehanort, on the other hand, simply clicked his fingers and cast 'Esuna', the spell that remedies any ailments and slightly healed any injuries he had. He looked back and, as he saw Amber run, he raised an eyebrow, certain that he had already taught her that spell.

"She must have forgotten." He guessed. With that, he continued on his way.

After a few minutes of walking, he manged to find the staff dorms, seeing the door to his room. He pulled out the key card to his room and placed it against the lock, the door opened, allowing Xehanort to enter the room.

It was spartan in nature, with only a bed and a desk. However, there was the exception of the bookshelves that rested above his desk, many of them holding titles of well-known legends, like the story of the four maidens, the tale of the two brothers, and so on. There were also some encyclopedias as well, explaining things to do with the Grimm and Remnant's history.

He walked over towards his desk, kneeling down and looking at the chest of drawers. He summoned his Keyblade and lightly tapped the drawers. Upon doing this, the drawers were briefly covered in a dark barrier, which soon faded, allowing Xehanort access to the drawers. He opened the top one, in which rested a black notebook and a pen. He took them out and sat down on the bed.

He opened the book, revealing several notes on experimental spells that he has been working on. Most were of the dark element, but there were some of several different elements. However, there was one set of notes on a spell in particular. And with serious reason.

' _I've been training Amber for five years, and in those times, I had learned two things. She has a drive to protect the people of Remnant, ready to risk life and limb in order to bring down any threat to the lives of this world's people, even more admirable when you consider how she has no discrimination against the Faunus. The second thing… even when she was living with her parents, Amber hated to be tied down. She would always find an excuse to go somewhere. So why would she be working in Beacon? While the atmosphere seems friendly it's unsuitable for someone like her, who wished to travel all across Remnant.'_

Xehanort found the notes he was looking for. As he read on, he continued to ponder.

' _The only reason I can think of for her being here is that she may be in hiding. I often said that the best place to hide is in plain sight. But she shouldn't feel threatened. Even with her magical prowess, she is well adept in hand to hand combat, and is well skilled in the use of her staff… hang on."_

Xehanort clapped the book closed as he came to a conclusion

' _Of course. Curse my stupidity. It's_ because _of her power that's she's here. Someone must have discovered her secret, and attempted to take the power for themselves…_ ' a dark glare formed on his face. ' _And I can bet good Lien as to who it was._ ' Remembering the Mother of Grimm ten years ago.

Xehanort got up onto his feet, throwing the notebook into the drawer. The Keyblade Master walked to the window of the room, seeing a view of several mountain ranges. However, he couldn't care less as he was now thinking of this Academy's Headmaster.

"It seems that Ozpin isn't nearly as competent as I believed." Xehanort said out loud, remembering how Ozpin claimed to have had the Maiden's safety at heart.

However, if a threat occurred that forced Amber into hiding, then it only made Xehanort see the man with the spectacles as a fool. After having spent years teaching Amber how to use her power to the maximum, he would be damned if he was going to let the girl die by a group of incompetent fools.

However, now wasn't the time to stew in anger. For now, he was curious to see what the first year students were like, which meant going to the entrance ceremony for the new students. With all of them present, he could get a better grasp of what it was he'd bee teaching. With that, he used his Keyblade to seal the set of drawers and exited the room, briskly making his way over towards the Auditorium.

"Let's see what we have in store."

…..

"Wow!"

After having wretched for what seemed like forever, but was thankfully only a few minutes, Amber had changed her clothes and freshened herself up, made her way to the auditorium to see what it was like. Upon entry, she was happy to see that there were so many different students here.

She could tell that most either came from Vale or Mistral, but she could also pick out a couple of teens who are either from Vacuo or Atlas. Each one of these students were dressed and armed in ways that were both unique and impressive, showing their individual ways to take on the world by storm.

Her eyes had caught sight of three students, a girl with a red cape seeming to have jumped into the arms of a taller, blond haired girl, seeming because another student was yelling at the girl in the cape. Part of her inwardly sighed, having a feeling that things were not going to be easy with those three.

"I bet Xehanort would give them hell if he were around." She said out loud.

Amber's attention was then drawn away from the students, her eyes seeing the Headmaster and Professor Goodwitch walking up on stage. For the last couple of years, she had seen the Headmaster give a speech that was both inspirational, but realistic, so as to get them ready, at least.

A couple of minutes later, Ozpin was now standing in front of the microphone, preparing to give his speech.

"I'll… keep this brief."

All heads turned towards the Headmaster at the sound of his voice. Something that Amber hadn't seen in many schools before coming here.

"You have traveled here today in search of knowledge. To hone your craft and acquire new skills. And, when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your lives to the protection of the people."

Amber gave a nod of approval, liking where he was going with this.

"But I look among you… and all I see is wasted energy."

"… Huh?" Amber said quietly, surprised by the sudden turn of events.

"Wasted energy in search of purpose, direction. You assume that knowledge will free you of this. However, your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far."

Ozpin lowered his head for a brief moment, before slowly raising it, a look of assertiveness sent in the direction of the three students Amber had spotted before.

"It is up to you… to take the first step."

As he walked away from the microphone, Amber was quite shocked to have seen that particular set of words spoken. However, she soon recovered, looking at the crowd again to see looks of doubt and, in some cases, anger. Personally, she couldn't blame them. Did Ozpin really have to say that?

"Well, that was interesting."

Amber didn't react, but her eyes did roll to the side, knowing full well who it was that was standing behind her. She gave a sigh of annoyance as she crossed her arms.

"Why did Ozpin have to say that?" she asked out loud. "All it seemed to do was upset them."

Xehanort stepped up beside Amber as he quickly scanned the crowd. "It's not the worst method, actually. It helps separate those who know full well that they're ready for this, to those who allow doubt to rule them, which in turn can lead to their own demise."

Amber gave Xehanort a deadpanned look. "You're just full of rainbows and sunshine, aren't you?"

"It's best for these children to be aware of the reality of what it is they are doing, rather than deluding them with notions of heroism." Xehanort stated. "A point I ensured to drill into your skull, I believe."

Amber could only sigh at her former mentor's attitude. Knowing that this conversation was only going to go one way, she turned around and began walking away.

"I'm heading to my room, if you're looking for me." She said to him.

"Please Amber." Xehanort started. "You're a grown woman, surely you don't need to tell me about everything you do."

"Okay, NOW you can shut up."

The Keyblade Master gave a dark grin as he saw Amber walking away in irritation. As he did, his peripheral vision allowed him to see the Headmaster about to make his way out of the auditorium. Before he could get too far away, Xehanort warped up behind the Headmaster.

"Quite the speech, old man." He said.

Ozpin turned to Xehanort, seemingly unfazed by Xehanort's warping. "I take it you would've said the same?" he asked with a knowing grin.

"It's important that these children are aware of what's to come." Xehanort stated. "However, our little Maiden seems to think that you were rather harsh with them."

Ozpin nodded in understanding. "Before hand, I had given speeches in which I gave then realism… but hope for success in their time in here and after."

"Oh?" Xehanort said, now slightly interested. "What has you changing your tune this year?"

"…" Ozpin's expression seemed to slowly change, a dark frown of his own that nearly made the Keyblade Master envious. "Dark times are approaching, Xehanort. These children are going to have to be ready for it soon."

"Would these happen to involve Salem?"

"!"

Ozpin turned towards Xehanort so quickly that he could've gotten whiplash. His eyes seemed to widen in horror, as if shocked that someone had found out about her already. At the sight of him, Xehanort let off a small chuckle.

"I've been aware of Salem for the past ten years, old man." Xehanort said, causing the Headmaster's eyes to widen further. "I've been made known of her existence so that I may put an end to her once and for all, myself. The only issue is that I've been having difficulty locating her base of operations."

Ozpin slowly managed recovered from the shock. Just enough, at least, that the was able to respond to what the, now 'Professor', had said.

"Salem will only allow entry to those who have allied themselves with her." Ozpin stated. "She doesn't want the risk of 'uninvited guests' causing havoc there."

"A pity… that I don't give an Ursa's hide as to how she feels." Xehanort said back, wiping some dust from the shoulder of his short.

"She… she doesn't feel."

"…" Xehanort looked back towards Ozpin. The previously stern Headmaster had slowly formed a look of… regret. Remorse, even. As if thinking of someone he…

"How did you know, Salem, Headmas-?" Xehanort asked.

"That is none of your concern!"

Ozpin had replied quite sharply. This only helped to prove a theory that Xehanort had about the Headmaster, which is why he how had a look of grim satisfaction on his face.

"Ahh… I see…" Xehanort said calmly. "Very well… I shall deviate from this topic for now, sir… however."

Xehanort placed a hand on Ozpin's shoulder, pulling the Headmaster in so that his ears were close to the silver-haired professor's face.

" _Should I find… that you are incapable of protecting my former apprentice, and that you are just as useless at stopping Salem…_ " a pink aura formed around his hand as he spoke, as well as his iris' glowing that same shade of pink. " _I will personally see to it that Salem is struck down, if not permanently defeated…_ "

Ozpin looked genuinely by this. He was about to turn his head to Xehanort, before his next words stopped him cold.

"… _After I put you down myself._ "

The pink aura and irises faded, quickly followed by frost quickly forming on Ozpin's shoulder. The headmaster grunted in pain, but it didn't last long, as Xehanort removed his hand, allowing the frost to fade away just as quickly. Clutching his shoulder, Ozpin looked back at Xehanort, who was now staring at him with a perfect blend of ice and steel.

"Consider this your first… and final warning."

With that, Xehanort turned and made his way to the staff dorms, planning to rest up before watching the initiates. As he walked away, Ozpin stared in the direction where the Keyblade Master was walking. Over the years, he had made too many mistakes to count.

And he was beginning to wonder if Xehanort may have been one of them.

…

The next morning, Amber was in the cafeteria, just leaving the selection of food that they had laid out for the staff, looking for a place to sit. As she looked around, she was surprised to see that Xehanort wasn't there yet.

"Huh? That's weird. I figured he'd be here… if only to make my life a living hell." She said, the second half spoken with a sarcastic tone.

"Oh? Who are you waiting on, my dear?"

Amber turned to see non-other than Peter Port and Bartholomew Oobleck themselves, one holding a tray of several fried meats, while the other, a tray of cereal and coffee… scratch that, 'four' coffee mugs.

Amber gave the two a smile as she spoke. "Good morning, sirs." She started. "No, just saw that Xehanort wasn't here yet."

"Ah, yes. Quite the unusual fellow." Oobleck said. "He seems quite fond of books, as indicated from him reading that copy of 'The History of the Faunus' book yesterday evening, but doesn't seem keen on using books to teach." He said.

"Well, perhaps he's found a way to make the classes more engaging in terms of theory." Port suggested. "Such as myself, with my daring deeds of heroism during my time on the field."

"Well, he does know his stuff." Amber noted, walking towards one of the free tables. "I heard he trained one person from scratch in how to fight, and that student ended up being near-unbeatable afterwards." She said.

Granted, she wasn't actually trying to compliment herself, even though it sounded like she was, but she was told not to reveal her training from Xehanort to anyone, lest they end up becoming suspicious of him and her, which in turn could drive them out of the Academy.

"Well, if so, I'd like to meet that person." Port stated. "I wouldn't mind testing my arm against someone like that."

Bartholomew turned around, his eyebrows raising as he saw something behind the group. "Ah! Speak of the devil."

"Oh, has this challenger arrived!?" Peter asked, quickly placing his tray on the table and began flexing his muscles. "Bring him on! I'll show-"

"I was referring to the trainer." Bartholomew corrected, nodding his head towards one of the other tables.

Sitting there was the silver-haired professor himself, sitting alone with a mug of coffee and a plate of eggs and brown bread. He was currently scribbling in a notebook.

"Ho-HO! So that's where he's been hiding." Peter said with an amused grin under his mustache. He then leaned towards Amber. "Not him dead, girl."

"EH!? WHAT!" Amber yelled, nearly causing her to drop her food. She looked towards Bartholomew, who had an equally amused grin on his face. She then looked at them both with a look of pure irritation. "You guys are the worst." She said as she walked off, leaving the two to do their best not to laugh.

Meanwhile, Xehanort was intensely focused on his notebook. Instead of making notes for new spells, however, he was drawing some sketches. One was of a young man in armor wielding a staff, another of a castle, which was surrounded by guards firing flames from the palms of their hands. The drawing he was currently working on was of a young woman, a look of love and sorrow on her face, as if losing a dear loved one.

"Just what do these images mean?" he asked himself.

Yesterday, when he grabbed onto Ozpin's shoulder, he used a spell he formulated that allowed him to discretely view the memories of anyone he touched. The only problem was that it only showed him random images, something that he would need to remedy later on. For now, he was drawing the images to see if he could learn something.

The only thing he was able to find was that Ozpin had, indeed, encountered individuals who could use magic. However, from the looks of the mage he drew, he was dressed in a guard's uniform, and he seemed to have no other weapon other than his magic. Could this have been the same for the other guards, if there were any.

What he found most peculiar was the woman. He looked familiar, but he wasn't able to put his finger on it. In the end, he slammed the book closed, causing the table to vibrate, before picking up a piece of bread to eat.

"Someone seems edgy."

Xehanort looked up with narrowed eyes, seeing the Fall Maiden looking down at him with an amused expression of her own. The Keyblade Master ignored her as he continued to eat.

"Hey! It's rude to ignore a lady, y'know!" she yelled, only she still had her grin on her face, taking a seat opposite him.

Xehanort swallowed a mouthful of bread before speaking. "I've got a lot on my mind, is all." He said.

"Looking forward to seeing how the initiates will do?" Amber asked as she begun to dig into her own food.

"It will be a refreshing experience, seeing so many young people being eaten alive by the creatures they believe themselves capable of slaying." He said.

"… You have no hope for them at all, do you?" she asked.

Xehanort paused for a moment, genuinely thinking about Amber's question. "That's actually an interesting question." He started, genuinely shocking Amber. "To which I have an answer."

He pointed to his right, to which Amber followed. She saw that he was pointing to one of the initiates, more specifically a girl with black hair, yellow eyes and a pair of cat ears on her head. At the sight of her, Amber tilted her head to one side.

"Have we… seen her before?" she asked, clearly confused.

Xehanort gave a small chuckle upon hearing that. "Poor girl." He said to Amber. "You can't even seem to recognize the girl we helped back at the restaurant all those years ago." He added, taking a sip from his mug.

"…" Amber thought about what Xehanort for a moment. However, as the answer slowly dawned on her, her eyes widened at the same rate of speed, followed by a slight nod from Xehanort.

"NO WAY! SHE-"

 _*CLAP*_

Xehanort shot his hand over the table and quickly covered Amber's mouth. He then held a finger over his mouth, signalling her to stay quiet. He didn't like the idea of upsetting the girl by having any attention drawn onto her by them. Amber had raised an eyebrow in confusion over his actions.

"It seems you have yet to learn to keep your thoughts to yourself, eh?" he said with a smirk.

As Xehanort lowered his hand, Amber looked to be pouting, as if annoyed at Xehanort for acting the way he did. Although, truth be told, she was more annoyed at how she couldn't hold her tongue like she should've been able to. After gritting her teeth, she sat back down, resting her head on her hand and looking rather disgruntled.

Seeing her expression, Xehanort shook his head at her. "Haven't I already told you?" he started, gaining the Maiden's attention. "Don't let your emotions get in the way of anything. It will only impair your judgement."

At that, Amber tilted her head to one side. "I thought you just meant that in a battle context."

"Any context can be referred to in a battle context, you fool." He stated. He looked back at Amber with narrowed eyes, which worked to put her at ill-ease. "Whatever your fight is, whether it be an argument or a life and death duel, if you don't learn to put aside your emotions when intended, you will lose focus, and you will fail at your endeavor. So no matter the risk-"

He harshly tapped the table with his index finger, making everything on it shake.

"Always keep your mind free of distractions, else you face nothing but failure."

Amber gave her former mentor a knowing grin. "Sounds like you've had a lot of experience in that area.

"…"

At the sound of what Amber said, Xehanort suddenly became quiet. Her words suddenly bringing to mind the younger Keyblade wielders who brought his downfall. The images of those who, despite all the odds, despite Xehanort holding all the cards, he was brought down.

Xehanort stood up from his stable, taking his notebook from his table and turned away, walking out of the cafeteria.

"I will see you at the cliff-side. Be sure to look professional." He said to her.

As he walked away, Amber just stared at him as he walked off. In the years that she had been trained under him, never before had she gotten under his skin like that. Normally, he'd give a sarcastic comment or an annoyed glare. This… this was something differently.

"What's up with him?" she asked out loud, continuing to eat her breakfast.

….

A couple of hours later, the first years were standing at the edge of a cliff that stood tall over the Emerald Forest. Each student had been motioned to stand on a metallic platform each. As they stood, Ozpin walked out, once again holding a mug of Cocoa. Beside him was Professor Goodwitch, readying the cameras to monitor the student.

Also present was Amber, now dressed in a sleeveless black jacket, gey tank top, jeans and sandals. This wasn't what she was planning on wearing, but she was late getting up this morning and threw on what she had found, which was why her hair was a slight mess and she was struggling to keep her eyes open. She gave a small yawn, only to receive a smack in the back of the head from the blond professor.

"Don't act like that in front of the students." She said quickly, causing Amber to stand up straight.

Ozpin looked around, noticing that Xehanort hadn't made himself present. Part of him wasn't sure if he was simply disinterested or had another agenda for today. Either way, he was slightly disappointed that he wasn't here. Despite his threat, Ozpin still valued the young man's opinion. Considering the combat ability he had seen first hand all those years ago, it would've been helpful to see what Xehanort thought, what he believed the students' strengths and weaknesses were.

Plus, he could tell that his threat was mainly out of concern for the current Fall Maiden. The Headmaster found it oddly amusing that Xehanort would have such levels of concern for someone else like that.

Nevertheless, he knew that he had to continue on with the initiation. He turned to address the students.

"For years, you have trained to become warriors. And today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest."

Professor Goodwitch spoke on from there. "Now I'm sure that many of you have heard rumors about the assignment of teams." She started, adjusting her glasses at the same time. "Well, allow us to put an end to your confusion. Each of you will be given teammates… today."

"Oh…" the girl in the red cape whispered to herself, not unnoticed by Amber.

Ozpin spoke again. "Your teammates will be with you for the rest of your time here at Beacon. So it is in your best interest to be paired up with someone with whom you can work well with." He stated. "That being said… the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner… for the next four years."

"… WHAT!?" the same girl screamed again.

Amber herself winced at the thought, not liking the idea of being paired up by such a random method.

Ignoring the girl's reaction, he continued with his induction. "After you've landed in the Emerald forest, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy anything in your path…"

He narrowed his eyes before finishing. "Or you will die."

At the sound of that, a blond haired boy in white armour gulped and laughed nervously. Amber couldn't blame him, but compared to the training that she was put through to make her as strong as she is, she guessed that it was kind of a cake walk… but then again, this was her now, and some of the students might not be ready.

As she thought this, she turned her head from side to side, wondering herself where the Keyblade Master had vanished to.

"You will be monitered and graded for the duration of your initiation. Our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff." Ozpin explained. "We will regard that item, as well as your standing, and your grade, appropriately."

He raised an eyebrow at the initiates. "Are there any questions?"

The blond knight raised his hand. "Uh, yes sir, I have a quest-"

"Good." Ozpin interrupted. "Now, take your positions."

With that, the students readied themselves, prepared for what might happen. One by one, they would be suddenly launched into the air from the metallic platforms they stood on. Amber stood with her jaw dropped. Even after seeing this a couple of times before, part of her was still bewildered that Ozpin would do something so bizarre.

Amber pointed to the blond knight, opting to answer his question herself. "Hey, didn't you have a question?"

"Oh." The boy said, thankful that someone noticed him. "Uh, well, I was just wondering, are you going to be dropping us into the forest, or-"

Jaune was interrupted by the sound of a student being flung into the air.

"No… you're going to be falling in yourself." Amber answered, rubbing the back of her head.

As students were launched one by one, the boy asked another question. "So, um, were we given parachutes, or something?"

Amber shook her head. "Sorry, you've got to use your own landing strategy." She answered, now worried for the boy.

Amber saw the red caped girl fly into the air, looking enthusiastic about going in. Although, judging by her reactions to Ozpin and Glynda's talk, Amber reckoned that it was more to do with slaying Grimm than the team forming.

"Okay." The boy said, a little more assured, but still confused. "So, what _is_ a landing stratagYYYYYYYY-HE-HE-HEEEEEE…"

The Headmaster and the Professors present all watched as the boy flailed around helplessly through the air. Amber raised an eyebrow at the boy, genuinely surprised. She hadn't seen anyone like him attend the school before.

"How do you think he'll do?" she asked Glynda.

"… We'll wait and see." Glynda answered.

Ozpin, meanwhile, kept his gaze focused on the sight of the forest, a part of him looking forward to seeing what the students had to offer.

…..

Back in the Academy, Xehanort was in his room, working on his teaching plan for the year. He had decided that he was going to take a different approach to how Goodwitch was going to teach. For her, the classes involved full combat, helping the students to sharpen their skills and learn new ways of dealing with different forms of opponents.

Xehanort, however, decided that his year of teaching would be another experiment. During his first couple of years, he studied a little on Aura and Semblances, so he would be able to defeat his opponents efficiently and be left with fewer surprises. Admittedly, that seemed to be harder than he thought, as many different opponents he faced that had Aura all had unique abilities, many of which surprised him. To this day, he could still remember the bandit who could control trees to the point of making them walk out of the ground and fight for him.

After the fight, Xehanort considered that such an ability would be better used to grow more trees. He had a slight fondness for nature, and such an ability would certainly help to restore what had been lost to humanity's so-called 'development'.

During his study, he learned that if the Semblance of that individual is used often enough and pushed to the limit, it can not only make the Semblance stronger, but evolve it into something better. This had only caught Xehanort's interest for a second, but it wasn't forgotten. Now that he was here, he could see if he could make these students stronger, make them ready for what may come.

After all… if he was right, then his target will go to any lengths to see him and Ozpin dead, so now, more than ever, is the time to turn the tides… no, to _Rise_ above them, to show all what they are capable of.

As he was finishing, he got an alert from his scroll. He pulled it out, revealing footage of the first year initiation. He formed a grin, making a mental note to thank Professor Peach, the laziest educator in the whole establishment, for linking the cameras to his scroll.

"Let's see how everyone's doing." He said out loud.

He switched from camera to camera, checking if there was anything of interest. He then came to a stop, seeing the young rose girl with… Weiss Schnee. Xehanort couldn't help but chuckle at the irony. The silver eyed girl seemed full of light and life, while the Heiress to the Schnee Dust Company seemed to be the very definition of… a certain word.

' _I'll have to keep a close eye on those two._ ' Xehanort thought. ' _I'd be more fearful of them tearing each other apart before the Grimm do._ '

He switched to a different camera, this time widening his eyes slightly upon seeing the girl in monochrome clothing. The ends of his lips slightly rose, a sense of intrigue upon him as he saw how the girl walked with confidence, but not arrogance, keeping an eye out for her enemies. He feline ears ready in case there was any danger nearby.

However, the girl she was with, the blond he saw from yesterday morning, seemed more interested in making conversation with her, apparent, partner. Xehanort had been informed of how the system earlier today, so he wasn't surprised that such an odd pairing was made.

Admittedly, he was curious as to what the Belladonna girl was like now, so he decided to switch on the sound.

" _So… think we'll come across any more of those Ursas?_ " the blond asked.

" _Can't say._ " Blake replied to her, followed by turning her head to the blond. " _Why do you ask?_ "

" _Because you took that last one from me, that's why._ " Blond answered with a grin, which caused Blake to grin and shake her head slightly. " _Hey, I'm serious, I could've taken him._ "

Blake shrugged her shoulders. " _I'm not saying you couldn't but what's wrong with lending a hand to someone?_ "

This caused the blond to go silent for a moment, trying to think of a rebuttal. In the end, though, she shrugged her shoulders as well. " _Meh, guess not. Thanks, by the way._ "

Xehanort watched on for a couple more seconds, glad to see that the young woman has finally grown to become a stronger person. He can remember clearly how fragile Blake had been back then. She had been close, too close, on giving up entirely. It was why Xehanort had to shatter those fragile foundations himself, and allow the girl to rebuild herself into what she was meant to be.

Xehanort decided to stop listening when the blond asked if she could feel Blake's feline ears, which caused the girl in monochrome clothing to quickly walk away, only for the blond to continue chasing after her. Xehanort switched off the footage together and decided to lie back on the bed, looking at the ceiling. After a couple of seconds, he began to wonder how the progress with her Keyblade was going.

Whether or not she would be able to wield it was ultimately up to her. There were some people who were given the chance and failed to wield the power in the end, just as many were able to wield the Keyblade, in fact. For some of those that succeeded, it took them many years before the Keyblade had accepted them.

Xehanort formed a grin, that last thought bringing up the memory of one Keyblade wielder, a boy originally having fallen to the darkness, only to consume it and rain it back down on his foes. One of the few to have essentially conquered the darkness…

Something Xehanort, as much as he hated to admit it, failed to do miserably.

He sat up again, wanting to get back to finishing the lesson plan. Before he could reach is desk, however, he heard a knock on the door. Curious, he walked over and opened the door to his room, only to find that no one was there.

"… Strange…" he said. He was about to close the door, when his peripheral vision caught sight of something.

At his feet was a small, cardboard box, with a sticky note attached that read 'Open Me'.

Xehanort knelt down, waving his hand over the box. As he did, the outline of whatever was hiding within glowed. The Keyblade master raised an eyebrow, as he seemed to be seeing the outline of a crystal and a piece of paper. He opened the box and, true to his magic, saw that there was a yellow dust crystal inside, along with another note. He ignored the crystal,picking up the note and read what was on it.

It was then he furrowed his eyebrows. Something about what was written rang a distant bell with him. He looked back at the dust crystal. Upon the second glance, it certainly seemed… paler. It was also shaped differently compared to other…

"!"

A thought occurred to Xehanort. He looked back at the note and, in his now building rage, crushed the paper in his hand before slamming his fist into the floor, creating a large set of spiderweb cracks. He quickly got up from the ground and clicked his fingers, summoning a Corridor of Darkness. Briskly walking through, he let the note slip through his finger, allowing it to rest on the ground. After the corridor faded, there was nothing to obstruct what was written on the paper.

' **My work shall never die** '

…

Back at the cliff-side, Ozpin, Goodwitch and Amber were all impressed by what they had seen so far. A Nevermore and a Deathstalker had both made an appearance to the students, making both Amber and Goodwitch worry for their safety. However, their worries were soon alleviated when they saw how the initiates turned the tides against them.

Jaune Arc, Pyrrha Nikos, Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren all took on the Deathstalker, with Jaune Arc making keen observations that allowed the team to make a thorough counter that won them the fight. Goodwitch had been doubtful of the Arc boy's ability, considering how much difficulty he was having compared to the others. However, seeing how he managed to come up with such an effective strategy and gain the trust of the others so quickly… maybe there was hope for him after all.

Amber, meanwhile, was filled with wide-eyed amazement as she saw the girl in the red cape, otherwise known as Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee, Blake Belladonna and Yang Xiao Long all work together to trap the Nevermore and create a slingshot, which was used to fire Ruby at the Nevermore like a missile, hook her scythe around its neck and run up to the top of the cliff before beheading the creature in a single motion.

"… Oh. My. GOD!" Amber yelled, unable to hold back the excitement she felt brewing. "That was incredible! I didn't even think that-"

"Miss Autumn!" Goodwitch snapped.

At that, Amber regained her composure and had to act formal again. She coughed a couple of times before saying "Quite the impressive display of skill, wouldn't you say?"

Ozpin let out a small chuckle before turning to Goodwitch. "No need for the elocution lessons, Glynda. Miss Amber was just showing her amazement towards the ability shown here today." He said before looking back at the monitor. "And quite frankly I'm inclined to agree with her."

"I'm afraid celebrations will have to come later."

All three professors turned to see the Keyblade Master quickly walking out of the Corridor of Darkness, a look of seriousness formed firmly on his face.

"Xehanort! Where were you!?" Amber asked. "You just missed-"

"You need to evacuate the students."

This caught the three professors off guard. Having known what he was like, they would've expected him to have the students stay and show their ability.

"Well, they've just collected the items needed and are on their way back." Goodwitch said. "They will arrive soon."

Xehanort narrowed his eyes. "I suspect that they won't have that long."

Amber was about to ask what he was talking about. That is, until a loud, ear-shattering roar rang through the air. Amber clamped her hands over her years, Goodwitch closed and squinted her eyes, While Ozpin and Xehanort instantly turned their heads to where they heard the sound originate.

Goodwitch tapped on her scroll, checking to see what it was that caused the roar. After a couple of seconds, Goodwitch gasped and widened her eyes.

"Glynda? Are you okay?"

"…" It took Glynda a moment to recover from the shock. She then looked up at Ozpin, Amber and Xehanort, showing them the image on the scroll. Upon seeing it, Both Ozpin and Amber seemed to pale, while Xehanort stood in confusion… although the image had a sense of familiarity to them.

"NO WAY!" Amber cried. "That's a FRICKIN HYDRA!"

"That it is." Ozpin said, his eyes narrowing with an assertiveness and fury that nearly rivaled Xehanort's.

"I'm afraid I'm not familiar with that type of Grimm." Xehanort admitted.

Amber decided to explain it to him. "It's a Grimm as rare as the Wyvern, capable of growing two heads if one of them has been cut off, and it's got scales that are stronger and more durable than any form of armor."

"It's not as powerful as a Wyvern, but it is naturally more intelligent, and is said to be the deadliest hunter compared to the rest of the Grimm." Goodwitch added.

Xehanort squinted his eyes as he tried to focus on an aspect of the Grimm he suspected to be present. Upon finding what he was looking for, he pulled back and walked to the edge of the cliff. "I have a theory that this one in particular could contain more power than any Wyvern." He said, followed by summoning another Corridor of Darkness.

"Xehanort!"

The Keyblade Master turned at the sound of Ozpin's voice.

"… Bring them back safe." He asked of him, a look of concern on his face.

Xehanort paused for a moment, before giving a slow nod of acknowledgement. He then turned to see Amber, nodding at him. With that, Xehanort passed through the corridor. As the wisps of darkness flowed past his face, his eyes hardened with a dark but calm wrath.

" _Time to see how your new project fares… Merlot._ " He thought, before fully passing through the corridor, which faded away into the air.

 **So, how'd you all find that?**

 **And for those of you who are thinking it, yes, Merlot's work is still going strong. As for if whether or not he himself is alive... well, you'll find out in later chapters.**

 **But, for the time being, just wanted to announce two things.**

 **1: New Story**

 **I've decided to start another story. This one is going to be a crossover between RWBY and Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow, but there's going to be another crossover aspect to it, bringing in one of my OCs from one of my other stories. Like RWBY: Dark Storm, it's an idea that i've been thinking about for a while, so i've decided that, when i get the opportunity, i'd put it on paper... or 'screen', at least.**

 **2: Challenge**

 **I've had another idea for a story that i've been wanting to put into action, but before i put it into action (which may be a while knowing myself), i figured that it's an idea that someone else might like to give a go as well.**

 **Basically, it's a crossover between Infinite Stratos and Undefeated Bahamut, in which the wielder of Bahamut (whether it's Lux, a different character or an OC is up to yourselves,), is brought into the IS world, and is discovered by Chifuyu. She brings him in as a combat instructor, much to the surprise of the other students, as one can imagine, while she works with him to uncover a plot involving IS enhancement via Ragnarok.**

 **How you want the story to go is up to yourselves. If anyone's interested, let me know on the PM, if not... well, at least i put it out there.**

 **Right, that's all from me. And, before i forget-**

 **Wrath of Vajra: To answer your question, i reckon Xehanort's voice in this would be a little closer to Xehanort's heartless, only slightly lighter.**

 **Matt the Hedgehog Android: Ask and yee shall receive... eventually. Glad you like it.**

 **Metacllica: You have no idea, trust me.**

 **Guest Isa: Thanks very much for the input, and i'll be sure to keep up the work.**

 **GuestWithIdeas: Thanks for making that point with Amber. I'll admit, i haven't made any pairing plans yet, but i'll be sure to mind my writing. Also, there will be some slight changes to some of the characters alright, but there won't be many changes to Ruby, as i may be one of the few people who actually like her character. One thing for certain at least, she'll still be armed with Crescent Rose.**

 **Guest: Glad you like the story so much, and thanks for the kind words.**

 **Mr Nail: Xehanort's teaching will be something to look forward to, i promise you that.**

 **Guest: No problem.**

 **The Baz: To be honest, The Baz, i haven't the foggiest clue. Perhaps in her late thirties, if i had to guess.**

 **Vigriff: More than a few.**

 **Antex-The Legendary Zoroark: Thanks very much, and don't worry, i will.**

 **nightmaster000: Certainly so. Speaking of Cinder, you can look forward to seeing how her ambush attempt went with the new and improved Amber.**

 **Right, that's all that i have to say. hope everyone has a good day, ad i hope that you'll look forward to the Hydra battle. See you later.**


	7. Chapter 7

" **Is the Hydra in place?** "

Salem was currently standing in her meeting room in her palace. The sky and terrain both akin to the bloodthirsty nature, pools of ominous, black and red liquid continuously birthing various forms of Grimm. To most, this would be the very definition of terror.

To Salem, however, it was merely another day at the office.

Standing a few feet behind her, a figure wearing a black lab coat, brown messy hair and dark green eyes. He was currently tapping on a black scroll, his face as blank as an unused sheet of paper. He looked up from the screen, his expression unchanging.

"It's done, my liege." He said to her. "The formula should be at full effect by now, several of the cameras we hacked into show the creature has reached full strength. Anyone that comes across it will be eliminated."

Salem looked back at the man. " **Are you sure, my boy?** "

The figure placed the scroll on the table and nodded his head. "Merlot's notes, added with the amendments that I added, combined with your power, there shouldn't be anyone in Remnant who can stand up to the Grimm."

Salem narrowed her eyes before having turned back to the window, just in time to see a Manitcore Grimm slowly rising from one of the pools.

The figure tilted his head to one side. "You have doubts?"

" **Not in you, per say.** " Salem said to him. " **There is one… pest, that has proven to be quite troublesome.** "

"The man you took your hand, I assume." He said. "Why not use your power to restore it? Surely, that isn't beyond your ability."

At that, Salem raised her arm, revealing the stump that once was connected to her own hand. Her expression was blank for a moment, before a small grin formed on her face. " **It serves as a reminder… of not to underestimate my opponents anymore.** "

The figure simply nodded his head. "I see. Is there anything else, my liege?"

Salem turned back and made her way to the table, picking up the scroll and looking down at the screen.

" **For now… we sit back and enjoy the show.** "

…..

"PHEW! What a fight, eh?"

Currently, the eight teens that were now walking along a quiet, narrow forest path, all of whom were beyond exhausted. Then again, if one had to go head to head with a giant man-eating bird and a massive armored scorpion, then they too would be quite fatigued.

Currently, the blond-haired brawler, Yang Xiao Long, was stretching her muscles, doing her best to fight off the fatigue as she tried to make conversation. "I mean, the four of us managed to take down a Frickin' Nevermore! You know how tough those things are!?"

"It certainly wasn't easy." Blake admitted, following with a small yawn.

"If Ozpin doesn't give us good grades after this, I will be quite disappointed." The Schnee girl, Weiss Schnee, added, covering her mouth so that no one would see her yawn.

"Ugh… I just wanna lie down and eat some cookies." The girl in red, or Ruby Rose, commented, barely able to keep herself up, slouching forward with her arms hanging limp, her eyes only half open. "That took a lot more effort than I thought it would."

Weiss folded her arms and looked at Ruby with a stern glare. "Well, you _did_ run up a cliff while dragging that Nevermore with you." She commented. "And I thought that you said that you were finished showing off."

"Heat of the moment, I guess." Ruby replied weakly, straightening up slightly as she rubbed the back of her head.

"Still, it was pretty awesome, though."

The four girls turned their heads, seeing the other four that were walking by them. The blond knight, Jaune Arc, who looked was in the same state as Ruby, Pyrrha Nikos, who was fighting hard to ignore her fatigue, at least until they reach the cliff-side, the magenta eyed and green-clad Lie Ren, who looked ready to drop, and the orange haired hammer wielding battle maiden, Nora Valkyrie, who seemed to be the only one out of anyone present who didn't look exhausted.

"I mean, we did pretty well too, given how we took down a Deathstalker and all, but WOW I didn't think you'd be strong enough to drag that thing up with you! Hey, do you some sort of secret workout training, is it part of your Semblance, is that how you can carry your scythe? How-"

"Nora!" Ren snapped, not wanting his partner to annoy the other girls.

"Alright, geez, I was just curious." Nora replied, unoffended, but slightly annoyed.

Jaune straightened himself up a bit before speaking. "Still, it's pretty cool. I bet no one else had the kind of battle WE did." He said, his spirit slightly uplifted.

"Just as long as we try to avoid any big battles for now, at least." Pyrrha added.

As soon as she said that, however, it seemed that fate had decided to play a cruel trick, as the teens all heard the sound of growling. Upon hearing the growl, all the teens stopped dead in their tracks. They looked around, wondering where the noise was coming from. However, the Heiress had looked over at Pyrrha with an irritated look on her face, while placing her hands on her hips.

"Why did you have to say that?" Weiss asked the Mistral Champion.

"… I'm sorry." Pyrrha said weakly, feeling responsible for their new arrival.

A second later, several Beowolves crawled out of the bushes. Their eyes glowed with more intensity than usual. When this happened, it usually signalled that they were either angered, or hungry. Either way, it was in this instance where one had to decide whether or not it was time for fight or flight.

And right now, the eight initiates were all genuinely trying to decide which decision was the best.

"Didn't think there'd be any Grimm hanging around here." Ren said, his eyebrows slightly raised.

Yang shrugged her shoulders. "Guess they sensed how moody the Ice Queen is." She suggested.

"HEY!" Weiss cried.

Ruby was about to say something, until she saw the Beowolves suddenly howl up towards the sky. What was strange was howl they all continuously kept howling, ignoring the initiates as they focused on howling in unison. The more they howled, the louder the howls seemed to become.

For some reason, this greatly unnerved Blake, who was now hiding behind Yang.

"What's wrong? The little doggies scaring you?" Yang asked humorously, certain that her partner's cat Faunus trait makes her

Blake simply gave off a light chuckle. Admittedly, the howls reminded her a little too much of canines. Fortunately, she could also tell that Yang was trying to calm her down a bit with the joke, so she didn't take it personally.

Yang them activated her shotgun gauntlets, reloading them and readying her battle stance. "In that case, leave 'em all to me." She stated. "No one upsets MY partner."

With that, Yang used her gauntlets to propel herself forward, pulling a fist back as she flew to land a haymaker to the bone mask of one of the closest Beowolves. The force was enough to crack the mask and send it skidding back. Other than that, the Grimm still stood tall, now more angered than defeated.

Yang was surprised that the beast was still standing. However, the explanation soon came when she suddenly felt fatigued, dropping onto one knee.

"Yang!" Ruby cried, unfolding her scythe and running to her sister's aid.

As Ruby got closer, she was soon intercepted by another Beowolf, one with a set of claws raised high up as far as it could reach. It brought the claws down, only for Ruby to narrowly dodge the swipe. The mini reaper then spun on her heels, slashing the Crescent Rose upwards, slicing through the torso of the beast. Before it could even howl, the girl morphed her scythe into a large cannon, pointing directly at the beast's head, firing a single round into it's head.

With that Grimm out of the way, Ruby was able to make her way to Yang, who managed to get back on her feet, albeit just barely.

"Yang, are you okay?" Ruby asked, worry written all over her face.

Yang craned her neck from side to side, audible cracks ringing in the air as she did so. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little… worn out." She said, her eyelids seeming to become heavier by the second. After fighting the sudden fatigue for a moment longer, Yang fell back to the ground.

Ruby gasped, kneeling down to check on Yang, failing to notice another Beowolf heading towards her.

It was then Jaune ran in between them, raising his shield, blocking a feral swipe from the Grimm. It was about to strike again, only for a blast of pink dust blew the Grimm away. No sooner had this happened had both Nora and Ren appeared, weapons and stances ready.

"Is it me or are the Grimm acting a little weird?" Nora asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It's like their taking their time, purposefully." Ren noted. "Beowolves usually tear right into their victims straight away."

Two more Beowolves roared towards the sky before leaping towards the initiates. Ren and Nora readied themselves, both of them suddenly energized and ready from the sudden rush of adrenaline. Nora morphed her weapon from a grenade launcher into a Warhammer, spinning it in the air before bringing it down on an oncoming Beowolf, crashing it into the ground and crushing it's head into pieces. Ren, meanwhile, fired at the other's knee, causing it to go off-balance, allowing him the opportunity to dash in, slice off an arm and impale the creature in its right pectoral, before dragging it across, a black smoke emitting from the open wound. Ren finished it off by aiming a pistol each at each of the creature's eyes, sending dust rounds into its skull, instantly ending the creature's life.

"This is becoming problematic." Weiss said, rushing up to the group with her sword unsheathed.

Blake and Pyrrha were right behind her. Soon, six of the initiates were surrounding the weakened Yang and concerned Ruby.

"Guys…" Ruby said, touched by their determination to help her sister.

Blake looked back at Ruby. "Ruby, you carry Yang. We'll cover you."

Ruby gave a small nod. She wrapped an arm around Yang while sling yang's arm over her shoulder. As she lifted her up the best she could, she saw the rest of the pack slowly make its way towards the initiates. Clearly, they weren't planning on letting them escape.

"Alright. Get ready guys." Jaune said, to which everyone nodded in acknowledgement.

 _*CLAP*_

At this, both the initiates and the Grimm stopped. The former looked around, wondering what the noise was. Soon, more clapping was heard, seeming to increase in pace by the second.

"Bravo. I must say, bravo."

Large waves of purple electricity soon surrounded the initiates, trapping the Beowolves and sending millions of volts of electricity through their systems, killing them with agonising levels of pain. As they howled in pain, their bodies disintegrated into nothing, the echoes of their howls ringing in the air a few seconds longer before all was silent.

The initiates all looked at each other, aside from Yang, who was now only semi-conscious.

"… That was… what?" Weiss said.

"Where did that come from?" Pyrrha asked, not letting her guard down.

"Your friend doesn't seem well."

The outer ring jumped upon hearing the new voice. They all looked around, wondering who was in the forest, and where the heck they were.

The voice soon came again. "You know, people need to learn to look _up_ more often."

Upon hearing this, everyone looked upwards to see the owner of the voice. Standing on one tree's branch and leaning against its main body, was a man in his twenties, silver hair and amethyst eyes. He looked at them with a smirk.

"Who are you?" Jaune asked.

The newcomer jumped out of the tree and landed in a crouch. She stood up straight and regarded the initiates.

"Before I do, perhaps you wouldn't mind showing a hint of gratitude toward me. I _did_ violate the rules to save you all, after all." He said.

"The rules?" Nora asked, tilting her head to one side, not understanding what he was on about.

Instead of explaining, however, he turned his attention to the unwell Yang. He was surprised that she became so sick all of a sudden. He took a step forward, only for Weiss to step forward and point Myrtenaster at him.

"Take another step, and I'll make you pay." She stated.

Xehanort couldn't help but laugh lightly at the girl. Arrogant and full of herself. The very definition of the Schnees.

"Really now?" she asked her. "You would go out of your way to threaten a member of staff at Beacon?"

"…"

That piece of information made the Heiress freeze in fear, having realized she just threatened one of the staff embers. And if he was the one who helped them, then he was a Huntsman…

"Oh no! I just threatened a teacher!" she cried,covering her mouth in shock.

As Weiss was lost in thought, Xehanort walked past her, soon standing directly in front of Yang and Ruby. As he walked by, he saw a certain feline faunus looking at his curiously, as if trying to remember if she'd seen him before. Ignoring her for the time being, he scanned Yang, checking to see if there is something wrong. After a few seconds…

"Did she happen to pass by a Rapier Wasp nest?" he asked.

Ruby was surprised to hear this, as well as instantly worried for her sister. She then heard Blake speak up.

"Yes, Yang and I did." The cat Faunus answered. "We tried taking a subtler path to try and avoid the Grimm. We found one path. It had a couple of nests, but…" Blake lowered her head, feeling guilty for having been the one to suggest a different path. "We made sure not to wake them. How-"

"Their venom can leak out of their system after death." Xehanort stated. "Even slight contact with a non-dry venom can cause sickness."

Ruby looked back at Yang, who was looking considerably paler. "What do we do?"

Xehanort summoned his Keyblade, a green light building up at the top as he held it over Yang.

"Esuna."

Yang was then covered in a bright green light for a few seconds, startling the other initiates. When it faded, Yangs eyes flattered open, soon widening with surprise and looking from side to side, seeing a relieved Ruby by her side.

"Ruby? What's goi-AGH!"

"YOU'RE OKAAAAAAY!" Ruby cried, pulling her sister into a bone-crushing hug. Thankfully, the spell Xehanort used also restored part of her aura, protecting her bones. However, the pain was still present.

"OW! Ruby, please stop!" Yang begged.

Hearing this, Ruby released her sister, laughing nervously as she did. Soon, the sisters began bickering with each other, leaving Xehanort confused. So, he turned to face the rest of the group, all of them giving him looks of confusion.

"What?" he asked them.

"Aren't you going to get in trouble?" Weiss asked, clearly suspicious.

"I thought teachers weren't allowed to interfere." Jaune said, he said, scratching the side of his head.

Xehanort grinned at the teens. "If I allowed rules to bind me, I would have had quite the boring life so far, and all of you would be dead.

Nora then spoke up. "Hey! I mean, okay, the battles with the Deathstalker and Nevermore was tough, but we could handle a bunch of Beowolves on our own, BUD!"

"…" Xehanort's grin slowly faded away. "Who said I was talking about _those_ Grimm?"

At that, the initiates slowly became nervous. Provided they were right, was he saying that there was another Grimm in the forest? Pyrrha raised her hand.

"Uh… may I ask what-"

Pyrrha was interrupted when an ear-piercing roar filled the air. The initiates, aside from Yang who was still dizzy, readied their weapons. Ruby, whose ears were now ringing, looked towards her friends.

"WHAT WAS THAT!?" she yelled.

"WHAT!?" Jaune asked.

"I SAID WHAT WAS THAT!?" she yelled at Jaune.

"I CAN'T HEAR YOU, RUBY!?" Nora yelled. "HEY, DID YOU HEAR SOMETHING ROARING!?"

"…" Thankfully, Xehanort had the foresight to cover his ears as the roar traveled through the air. While finding how the initiates were acting to be amusing, he new he had to act soon. He used the Esuna spell on them again, followed by clicking his fingers to get their attention.

"Now, unless you all plan to die here today, I suggest that you all make your way to back to the Headmaster."

"HUH!?" Yang cried, soon standing back on her feet. "Why not? We can beat it, you know!"

No sooner had she said that, the audio of several trees being torn out of the ground sang through the air. The initiates looked back nervously, while Xehanort;s face showed a look of deadly seriousness.

"I wouldn't count you chickens just yet, Miss Xiao Long." He said to the blond brawler. "Or do you feel ready to take on-"

Xehanort was interrupted when the Grimm in question finally made an appearance. Tearing through the trees was a creature at least twenty feet tall. The body of the creature looked like a very large lion, several pieces of bone armour for protection, but also had several, glowing yellow crystals sticking out, each one forming veins around the edges where they were implanted. The creature also had an incredibly long neck, which was what gave it the height advantage, the top having a head similar to a black King Taijitu, only with several spikes forming a lion-like main and several more teeth.

The creature glared down at its potential lunch, while Xehanort smirked back at the creature.

Xehanort looked back at the initiates briefly. "Come to a decision?"

Seeing the Grimm before them, they could tell that there was no way that they could take it on. So, with heavy reluctance, especially from Yang, the group made their escape. Seeing that they were less likely to be harmed, Xehanort readied his battle stance.

"Time to test the fruits of your labors… Salem."

…..

Back on the cliff, Ozpin, Glynda and Amber all saw the appearance of the Hydra. They were stunned by the appearance of the creature, as it was apparent that it got heavy modification from some sort of source. Their attention was brought away from it for a moment, seeing that the initiates were running back to the cliffside.

Glynda sighed. "At least the children are safe." She said.

"Thank Oum." Amber said, looking back at the Hydra. "But, what about Xehanort?"

Ozpin's eyes were now focused on the silver haired Keyblade master in question. Ozpin saw no fear in the man's eyes. The fury that was previously showing was soon replaced with a form of… anticipation.

"If I'm right…" Ozpin started. "Xehanort will have little trouble dealing with this Grimm."

Amber looked back at the Headmaster, slight doubt clearly present in her eyes. "Are you sure?"

Ozpin gave a small grin. "When I sparred with Xehanort, I sensed more power within him than anyone I have ever faced. The man has more cards up his sleeve than he's willing to show."

"Do you think he's willing to play those cards now?" Glnda asked.

The screen then showed Xehanort taking a step back, before dashing towards the Grimm, his free hand building up with, what seemed to be, a light purple flame. Having never seen Xehanort use fire, he formed a light grin of his own.

"I'd say there's a fair chance, Glynda." He answered. "A fair chance indeed."

…..

Xehanort narrowly dodged the creature's head, which had tried several times to bite at him, only for him to narrowly escape the large collection of fangs. Despite its size, it was able to scuttle back with reasonable speed, gaining some distance between itself and the Keyblade Master.

As Xehanort rolled onto his feet, he couldn't help but grin at the beast before him. It was certainly more intelligent than the average Grimm, as it pulled back when Xehanort tried to slash at it, escaping with only a scratch on the size of its face.

Xehanort shot his free hand, out, a stream of purple flames firing at the feet of the beast. This caused the beast to stumble back, clearly disliking the fire at its feet. As it stumbled back, Xehanort aimed his Keyblade at a certain direction, firing a shard of ice near the creature. Upon hitting the ground, the ice spreading across the ground.

The Hydra stepped on the ice, instantly losing its grip on the ground and falling to the side. Upon impact, Xehanort took action. He fired several more ice spells, pinning the creature down in several places. When he was sure it was stuck, Xehanort dispelled the ice and replaced it with lightning magic, pointing his hand up high into the air.

"THUNDER!"

Several bolts of lightning came down, striking the creature directly in the head. It didn't damage the head physically, but the fact that it was roaring with such intensity. Xehanort couldn't help but finding the sound oddly soothing.

While the creature proved to be intelligent, and large, he found the creature to lack any power.

"Is that all you got?" he asked smugly.

After the lightning stopped, the Hydra broke free from the ice, angrily getting back on its feet. It's serpent-like neck angling in different ways, looking for ways to strike Xehanort more efficiently. It halted for a moment. A split second after, the head shot at Xehanort. Xehanort blocked the attack with guard, the force of the attack pushing him back slightly. Xehanort recovered and managed to avoid a set of open jaws by jumping up into the air.

The Hydra curled its neck around so that it could fire its head up towards Xehanort. Surpised, Xehanort braced himself for another attack, only to see the creature's jaws opening wide. Xehanort wasn't able to dodge this time, so he had to hold out his Keyblade. He ended up getting caught in the creature's jaws. The Hydra tried to bite down on him, but he was pushing the jaws apart with his feet and Keyblade.

"Okay… perhaps you're not as weak as I thought." He admitted. Deciding that he had spent long enough in the Hydra's jaws, he coated his Keyblade in ice. The ice instantly travelled around its jaws, freezing its jaws wide open. Xehanort took the opportunity to leap out and get some distant away from the creature. Upon landing, he pulled the Keyblade back and was preparing to throw the Keyblade at its jaw, thereby shattering its jaws and teeth entirely.

He could tell that this creature was a mile or two above the rest of the monsters he had faced before, and his power alone wouldn't cut it… as much as he hated to admit it.

Which meant… it was time to use-

"Hold on, Professor!"

Xehanort froze. Soon after, though, he looked back just in time to see a red blur speed past his head. He turned back, seeing the blur reforming into the young reaper. She had unfolded scythe, aiming the giant weapon directly at the base of its neck.

Xehanort raised a hand up. "ROSE! STOP!"

IT was too late, however, as Ruby cleanly sliced through the creature's neck in one strike. She landed on the other side, turning her head to see the large neck and head of the Hydra fall down to earth, while its body collapsed to the ground. After a few seconds, making sure that the creature had stopped moving, Ruby folded her scythe and shot a fist into the air.

"Aw YEAH!" she cried. She looked over to the Keyblade Master with a thumb's up. "Don't worry Professor, this thing won't be-"

Ruby didn't get to finish, as Xehanort warped right in front of her, staring down at her with one of the darkest glares he had ever givien. It was no mystery that he was furious with the girl.

"… Uh… P-P-P-Professor?" she managed to ask.

"A question for you, young Rose." He started, is tone as cool as ice, working to make the girl shiver in fear. "What normally happens to a Hydra Grimm after it is decapitated in any form?"

"Oh, umm…" the girl stood in a thinking pose for a moment, trying to remember what it was she heard. "Uh, I think… no, can't remember." She admitted, slumping forward in defeat.

Xehanort turned away, aiming his Keyblade at the body of the creature. "When one head is severed…" he saw one of the creature's talons twitch slightly. "Two more grow back."

No sooner had he said that did the Hydra's body spring back to life, standing on its legs and dark smoke rising from the wound. Surprisingly enough, the smoke slowly became thicker, dividing into six strands that seemed to take… shape.

"Uh, sir?" Ruby asked. "What's going on?"

As if to answer, the smoke soon faded away, revealing… six new heads.

"SIX!?" Ruby cried. "I THOUGHT YOU SAID HE'D GROW TWO!"

Xehanort readied his battle stance. "It seems that this one's more powerful than the rest." He said to her. More than likely Merlot, or whoever enhanced this Grimm, made an adjustment or two to give it an edge. It seems that he was correct. This was going to be much harder than he thought.

The Keyblade Master soon got a shock, when he saw the crystals embedded in its body starting to glow. The Hydra opened all its mouths, each one forming a pale, yellow orb in the centre of their mouths. Before Xehanort could react, they all fired off large beams of light, all of which were aimed at Xehanort and the girl.

Time seemed to slow down for the Seeing that he only had time for a split-second decision, he looked back towards Ruby, the girl clearly terrified over what was about to happen. He looked back towards the beams of light. He didn't plan on dying anytime soon, mainly because he didn't wish to break his vow to annihilate Salem, but there was something that prevented him from leaving the girl. Perhaps it was because she reminded him of the first person he ever saved in this world…

As such, he decided now was the time to use _it._

Xehanort's body soon became engulfed with dark energy, his eyes flashing back and for between ember and amethyst as he drew further into the dark recesses of his heart.

"I shall guide you into EVERLASTING **DARKNESS!** "

…..

Amber, Ozpin and Glynda all watched in horror as the attack formed by the Hydra engulfed Xehanort and Miss Rose. They could see at the edge of the blast that the land was disintegrating from the force. From the looks of things, there didn't seem to be a chance of the two of them surviving.

"No…" Amber whispered, unable to handle the sight.

Glynda was also in shock at what she saw. She may not have trusted Xehanort, but he risked his life to try and save the children. That alone, however, compared little to the horror and guilt she felt from Ruby having lost her life to the beast.

She took off her glasses and looked up, seeing a flash of light in the distance, her stern features softened. "I'm sorry, Amber." She said to the girl, knowing how she considered Xehanort a good friend. "I… and I''m sorry, Summer… Taiyang…" she whispered to herself, feeling sorry for her parents.

Ozpin, however, had his look of horror replaced with a small grin on his face. "Why so glum?"

At this, both Amber and Glynda looked at Ozpin like he was insane.

"Why? WHY!? Did you NOT just see what happened to them!?" Amber yelled.

Ozpin pointed at the scroll. "Look again."

Confused, both Glynda and Amber looked back at the screen. As the light from the attack faded, both women looked at the screen, their eyes widening in shock and disbelief at what they were seeing.

"What… what is _that_?"

…

Ruby had her eyes closed when she saw the beast's beams get too close. She wasn't able to do anything except just wait for the beam to come close to her, both terror and heartache present within her. She came here wanting to prove that she could become an amazing Huntress, to make both her mom and dad proud. Instead, things had to end like this.

As she heard the sound of the attack grow fainter from the Hydra, however, she became confused she wasn't in pain, she wasn't seeing white or any angels flying over her (though that was mainly because of her closed eyelids). She opened one eyelid, quickly opening the other when she saw what it was that happened.

Before herself and Xehanort was some kind of… creature. She had never seen anything like it before. It was pitch black with several purple veins across its body, it had the torso of a steroid-infused body-builder, a gaping heart-shaped hole through its back and stomach, bandages covering its body and some kind of antennas sticking out of its head. It also has a tail where its lower body should be, giving it a ghost-like appearance.

"Dark Guardian."

Ruby looked at Xehanort, who was pointing the palm of his hand at the new arrival. A grim smile on his face, as if having experienced a mid-blowing success.

With the click of his hand, the 'Dark Guardian' as Xehanort called it, vanished and reappeared behind Xehanort. At the sight of the Guardian, the Hydra took a couple of steps back from Xehanort and Ruby.

"A wise decision… but you're too late." Xehanort said with a dark glee. He then looked back at Ruby. "Leave now, child."

At this, Ruby was offended. "No way! I'm not leaving you alone against that thing!"

"As you are now, you are nothing more than a hinderance." He said back to her. "Besides, your priority is finishing your initiation. Go, else you wished to be kicked out of Beacon."

Ruby had thought about what Xehanort said for a moment. True, she didn't want to be kicked out but… no. She knew her Priorities.

Ruby readied her scythe, aiming the sniper attachment at the creature. "I'm training to be a Huntress. This _is_ my priority." She said confidently.

While he wouldn't express it visibly, Xehanort was surprised by this girl. Truly she was one who would go above and beyond to face any danger for those in need. It reminded him much of Amber and…

Briefly, Ruby's image was replaced. Where she stood, Xehanort saw a young boy with black hair tied into a short pony tail, grey eyes and dressed with white robes. He gave Xehanort a smirk and nodded his head.

' _Show'em what you got._ '

Xehanort's vision returned to normal, once again seeing the determined rose.

"… Very well." He said, turning back to the Hydra. "Don't blame me if you die today."

"Won't need to." Ruby said, reloading the gun mode with fire dust. "I don't plan on dying."

With that, Ruby Xehanort and his guardian all charged forward. Seeing this, the Hydra et out a roar before the heads shot for them.

Xehanort looked over at Ruby briefly. "Remember. Decapitation is out of the question."

"Got it, sir!" Ruby replied, before increasing in speed and dashing with surprising speed towards the Hydra.

When Ruby got close enough, one of the heads went for her and snapped its jaws open. Ruby stopped and quickly fired several fire rounds into the creature's mouth, causing a large inferno to form and travel through and down the Hydra's neck. While it was in agony, Ruby used her scythe to slash the creature, making a vertical wound, remembering Xehanort's advice.

Ruby didn't have time to celebrate, as the lightning didn't last long. This part of the creature dashed at Ruby, wanting to waste no time in killing what it considered to be a pest. Ruby was able to evade the creature every time by a hair's width; the Huntress in training was surprised at how quick it could move its head around.

Ruby had dashed upwards, looking down to see how things were. However, she was shocked when she saw the wound she inflicted sealing up again.

"Aw, no fair." She pouted.

Another roar pierced the air from behind her. She looked back, surprised to see another head dashing to her.

"EEP!" Ruby yelped before using her Semblance to dash away. As she did, however, the first head she fought also had the same idea, it's jaws once again wide open for the kill. While still in dash mode, she looked back and forth, seeing two Hydra heads aiming for the kill.

"Ah PICKLES!"

Hoping she would a chance from this, she sharply turned downwards at high speed. As this happened, the Hydra that was about to swallow Ruby whole instead charged at the other head. The second head tried to evade, but instead the latter was trapped in the jaws of the former.

Ruby was able to use the momentum from her Semblance to land with a roll, looking up to see the mess the Hydra got itself into.

"This is so AWESOME!" Ruby yelled.

Her, excitement, however, was short-lived, as the Hydra head that was biting down on the other tore through its neck, severing the head from the Hydra. Seeing this, Ruby began to fill with panic. She aimed her weapon at the severed area, firing multiple fire dust rounds at the wound hoping to stop the new heads from forming.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no, NO!" Ruby was becoming more frantic with worry. Luckily, she managed to calm down, and tried to make a plan. She saw the wound bubbling seeing several parts reattaching to each other, more skin growing. She had to act fast.

"C'mon, think! How can I stop it from regenerating?" she asked herself. She looked around, hoping that an idea formed in her mind. Her eyes then caught something to her right; she turned and saw a leaf burning at the edges, slowly becoming nothing,

That's when she realised it.

She patted down her pockets, looking for a crystal she… 'borrowed' from Yang, keeping it just in case. Fortunately, she found what she was looking for. She pulled out a red dust crystal, looking rather gleeful. She then looked over to the Hydra, looking like it was just about prepared to re-grow its heads.

"I need to cut that part off!" she exclaimed, readying herself for another use of her Semblance.

 _*SLASH* *SLASH* *SLASH*_

Ruby's eyes were half the with of dinner plates when she saw several projectiles fly directly over her head, curving up towards where the heads were about to grow. After the area was cut off by one projectile, several more embedded themselves into the necks of the other heads without severing them.

Ruby narrowed her eyes, soon seeing that the projectiles in the, now roaring in anguish, Hydra's neck were disc shaped.

"Surprised?"

In response to the voice, all of the heads turned around, admittedly with difficulty as the discs still limited their movements, all of them seeing the silver haired Keyblade Master standing on the hydra's back, leaning on his Keyblade like a cane as he regarded the heads briefly.

He then gave a slight nod. "Quite right, Miss Rose!" he exclaimed, making sure that she could hear him. "Perhaps there is hope for you yet!"

"!?" Ruby tilted her head to one side, unsure as to take that as a compliment or an insult.

Xehanort, meanwhile, twirled his Keyblade before aiming at the severed area, unleashing a stream of fire that worked to quickly seal the wound of the creature. When Xehanort was finished, he could tell that there was no way that the Grimm could re-grow a head from that.

Xehanort once again leaned on his Keyblade as he looked at the remaining heads, their eyes glowing with more intensity than before.

"One down, five to go." He said simply.

No sooner had he said that had two of the heads tried to dash at him. When one got close, Xehanort slashed at it, spinning himself and following with a Dark Volley attack. A common ability among wielders of darkness in his day. Several beams of darkness landed on the creature, scarring it in several places. Deciding to put it out of its misery, Xehanort coated his Keyblade in fire and sliced the head clean off. The residual heat was strong enough to seal the wound and prevent the heads from growing in that area.

The second head, meanwhile, was dealing with the Guardian. The hydra head was grabbed from behind by its spikes, pulled back before receiving a strong blow to where its head met the neck, making it roar in pain. The head turned to see the Guardian, both its fists coated with dark energy. The Guardian landed several punches to the Hydra head's face, disorienting it. When it was dizzy enough, the Guardian soared downwards before shooting back up, grabbing the creature by the jaw while moving, the momentum allowing the Guardian to tear off the head with ease.

Seeing the Guardian's handiwork, Xehanort shot a Firaga spell at the messy wound, instantly sealing it.

The Guardia let the head drop, soon floating right next to Xehanort. He looked up, seeing three more heads to deal with. However, he didn't look worried in the slightest. He looked over to the Guardian.

"Breakfast is served." He said.

The Dark Guardian nodded towards its progenitor. It looked back towards the Grimm, lifting its hands and managing to open its mouth over the bandages. No sooner had he done that did a black aura seem to form around the Hydra, which seemed to flow away and to the Guardian, which wasted no time in consuming the black aura.

Ruby watched the scene from afar, noticing that the more the 'Dark Guardian', as the professor called it, was absorbing something from the Grimm. She thought it was an aura, but soon remembered that Grimm don't have them.

Whatever it was, it looks like the lack of it was having a serious effect on the Grimm. It was thinning, parts of its flesh were falling off, and the roars of anguish seemed to quieten. She could tell that the professor was slowly killing the Grimm.

Despite it being a Grimm, Ruby couldn't help but feel sorry for it.

"ROSE!"

Ruby was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard Xehanort's voice. She looked up, seeing the professor grinning at her darkly. He nudged his head to the side before saying "Care to help finish this?"

Ruby was silent for a moment, but soon nodded in responds to his question. Readying herself, she aimed the Crescent Rose backwards, firing off a couple of rounds that allowed her to fly up towards the closest Hydra head. With a swift swing of her scythe, the Hydra head came clean off. Ruby then turned and fired several more fire dust rounds at the creature's wound, the fire from the bullets now sealing the wound.

One of the remaining heads tried to attack the young rose, but was intercepted by the Guardian, who coated itself in blue energy before charging at the head. The force was enough to, when crashed into the top head of the Hydra, completely tear off the top half of the head. The Guardian followed by firing several more discs at the creature's neck, slicing off parts of the neck at a time. When it was finished, it clasped its hands together before firing a torrent of black and purple fire, burning off of what was left of the creature's neck, and sealing the wound shut.

That left one head, which was now well aware of the situation it was in. It looked back at the Keyblade Master that stood on its back, seeing an endless amount of dark energy radiating from his body. Such a thing would normally be appealing to a Grimm. But right now…

It showed who the true monster was.

"You have lost." Xehanort stated.

Instead of going for another head slice, however, he opted to impale the creature in its back, ice forming around the wound and quickly spreading. Despite the Grimm's protest, it was soon frozen from the inside and out, becoming nothing more than an ice sculpture.

"… Not quite my taste." Xehanort stated, not finding his new ice statue up to code. As such, with one swipe of the Keyblade, he shattered the entire Grimm, several shards of ice falling from the sky. He landed with a roll before twirling his Keyblade and dispelling it.

He looked over towards his Guardian, seeing the being unworn and still powerful. The creature once was only accessible to him while under possession of Terra. Recently, however, he managed to create his own Guardian, having used a very simple ingredient.

One that would make it so that the Dark Queen didn't stand a chance.

The guardian soon faded away, leaving Xehanort to stare at the empty space where his own Dark Guardian had once existed. After a moment, however, he looked to see Ruby Rose standing in the distance, her eyes apparently widened with great awe.

Xehanort, on the other hand, looked at the girl with confusion. "Why are you standing there? Don't you have an initiation to finish?"

This snapped Ruby out of her awe, causing her to scramble across the ground before regaining herself. "Uh, yeah-I mean- of course, I just…" Ruby then gave a quick bow. "Thanks for saving me back there."

Xehanort simply nodded. "Well, couldn't have you dying without having gotten into the school, at least." He said to her before walking over to the cliffs himself.

"Yeah, I guess that would kinda… uh… what do you mean 'at least'?" Ruby now had a worried expression on her face.

Xehanort didn't look back at her, but he answered all the same. "Being a Huntress is a lethal job in itself. There will be many times where one could lose their life, even while training in a facility like this." He answered. "As such, I would advise you to be more serious and less impulsive in a fight."

Xehanort came to a stop, this time looking back at the girl. "But… like I said, this is _advice_. If you have your own way that works for you, than who am I to change it?"

This surprised Ruby slightly. "Uh… shouldn't you be telling us specifics and, uh… stuff?"

Xehanort let off a small chuckle before continuing with his walk. "Let's move."

As Ruby watched Xehanort move off, she was now confused. If he was telling us to train our own way, then why would he need to act as a professor? Had she thought anymore about it, she would've gotten a headache. She shook herself out of her thoughts, remembering that she needed to get back and join the others.

Any most importantly, have the BEST four years of her life.

…..

Back in Salem's castle, Salem herself was lost in thought as she saw the whole fight. In it, there was the silver haired an who proved to be the bane of her plans, a silver-eyed warrior who had yet to realize her power, but showed great combat prowess, and a creature that she had never laid eyes on before.

After seeing the fight come to an end, she sat in silence, replaying the fight in her mind over and over. However, the young man standing behind her looked completely shocked, like everything he had ever believed in had been completely disproven and cast away.

"… How?" he managed to ask, leaning on the table as he looked close to collapsing. "I… I know everything was… it's nonsensical."

Salem turned her head to her helper, sending a small smile with a dark look before looking back at the footage.

" **Your formula, my child, had nothing to do with this loss.** " She said to him.

This caught the young man by surprise. He was about to ask what she meant, when she stood up, tapping the screen, causing it to pause on the current frame, showing a clear image of Xehanort with his dark smirk.

" **The problem, was that Xehanort had exploited an aspect of the Grimm… one I never imagined anyone attempting to do.** " She stated, sliding her finger around the edges of the Keyblade Master's face. She looked back towards the young man with an inquisitive look. " **Tell me… what did you notice about the creature he summoned?** "

The young man recovered fully from his shock, now thinking over what he had seen so as to answer her question. "Well, it's incredibly strong, having blocked the Hydra's attack as it did." He began. "It also showed to have some level of intelligence, being able to understand _him_ so well."

Salem looked back at the screen, now looking more serious as she thought about the aspect she found most troubling.

" **And the fact that it absorbed the very essence of the Grimm.** " She said, stunning the young man. " **He had the monster he summoned consume the very darkness that the Hydra was made from to begin with, weakening it.** "

This caused the young man's eyes to widen. Not out of fear or shock, but from amazement. "He's creating his own monsters from the darkness of Grimm? That's… that's… ingenious." He admitted.

" **And a hindrance.** " She noted. If this man could create, or at least empower these kinds of monsters by basically feeding them Grimm, then the creatures of the dark have become obsolete in his elimination… " **Or perhaps… an opportunity for us.** "

Salem turned around, making her way out of the room before she exited, she said to the young man " **Continue with your research. If there is a way to stop him using the formula, use it. No matter how far you have to go, see… it… done.** "

With that, Salem exited the room, leaving the young man alone in the room. He looked back at the screen, a dark leer forming on his face, the excitement of fighting against such an anomaly… it was astonishing.

"I shall see it done." The young man, Magis, said.

…

"Hmph."

After Xehanort and Ruby Rose had returned to the cliff-side, all the other initiates rushed up to her, all of them glad to see that she was save. Miss Xiao Long had also made a successful recovery, proven when she pulled her sister into a dramatic bear hug and cried a stream's worth of comical tears.

Xehanort had assumed that she was in some sort of hysterics as a side effect of the poison, but later learned that it was how she usually acted around her sister when emotional.

Later, the initiates had gone to the entrance hall, where Ozpin would assign teams. Xehanort had decided not to go, instead making his way into the city of Vale. There, he had entered the same steakhouse that he and Amber had taken Blake to talk to her. He was surprised to see that it was still the same as it was before.

When he was seated, he ordered the steak sandwich, along with a glass of water. When he got the food, he gave his thanks to the waiter and was about to dig in. he was interrupted, however, upon receiving a message. Seeing as his food wasn't going anywhere, he checked to see what it was.

It was from Amber; a list of the teams that were formed. He looked through the list, one team name sticking out more than the rest.

Team RWBY.

"Rose, Schnee, Belladonna and Xiao long… an odd combination." He said. Truth be told, when he saw that the Rose girl was the leader, he wasn't overly surprised. Given how she had come up with a successful, albeit unorthodox plan to eliminate a Nevermore, and having provided him aid during the fight, he thought that she had a chance of being a good leader.

Key word, 'Chance'.

"We'll have to see what the future holds." He said to himself. It will be the strength of their hearts that will be the deciding factor.

He then thought back to the Belladonna girl. It was clear that she had excellent combat ability. He wouldn't be surprised if she was physically ready to wield a Keyblade. However, she showed no sign of having used it thus far.

While he initially didn't mind, the battle with the Hydra, one clearly fused with a different variety of the formula made by Merlot, had showed that there were forces were preparing themselves. They were becoming stronger.

As such, he will need to show the girl the ways of the Keyblade. He would take any opportunity to bring Salem to an end.

After all… a promise was a promise.

He finished the food relatively quickly, leaving some lien on the table along with a generous tip. As he was about to walk out, he came to a stop, looking back behind him. He narrowed his eyes, looking in several directions in the café/restaurant. He was sure he felt another presence watching him. Something stronger.

Something…

"Sir?"

Xehanort turned his head to one of the waitresses, who was standing before him and looking at him in worry.

"Are you okay sir?" she asked, having noticed that he had seemed to space out.

Xehanort nodded to the girl. "I'm fine, thank you. And thank you for the meal." He said, walking out of the restaurant. As he did, his face was still one of interest, still wondering as to who, or what, could cause him to react to it.

….

When the silver haired figure left the restaurant, the waitress couldn't help but watch him go. She didn't know why, but she could tell that there was something off about him. He seemed nice, a little vague maybe… but there was something under it all that still made her feel some kind of chill down her bones.

"You okay?"

This caused the waitress to yelp, turning and breathing a sigh of relief when she saw who it was.

"Oh, sir. My apologies." She said. "I just need-"

"It's fine. Just wanted to ask for some more water."

At this, the waitress nodded and went to get some more water for the customer in question. As she went off, this customer also looked out to where the silver-haired figure had exited, only to see that he was gone.

The customer had short, black spiky hair, blue eyes and a lightly tanned complexion. He wore an open charcoal blazer over a black shirt, pants that matched the color of his blaze and dress shoes. he stood straight, looking rather regal, but also had a calm, but serious look on his face.

' _Let's hope she knew what she was doing._ ' He said. ' _Looks like redemption's going to be a long road for him'_. his eyes briefly flickering between red and blue. The flickering soon came to a stop, seeing the waitress coming. He gave the woman a nod before accepting the glass.

"Thank you, Emilia." He said to her.

As he watched the woman leave, he went back to his table, sat down and allowed himself to be lost in thought, resting his head on his right fist, crossing his legs. His eyes closed as he thought about what he needed to do.

"Should worst come to worse…" he opened his eyes slightly, this time staying crimson red. "Guess it'll be up to me to get the job done... and ensure he doesn't harm anyone anymore."

 **Alright, ladies and gents, I'm going to leave it at that. And let me tell you, this might be my fastest upload time as of yet.**

 **Before signing off, just want to say thanks to you all. This story is the first one I made to receive over a hundred favorites. And it feels really good creating something that everyone can enjoy, and it's why I'm still able to write. So, once again, since I can't say it enough, thank you all.**

 **Also, I hope everyone liked the introduction of the Dark Guardian. It's definitely one of my favorite parts of the game, given the amount of mystery as to what it was behind it. That said, that mystery had been solved already, but I'm not going to say what it is because it's one heck of a spoiler, so for those of you who don't know, all I'll say is play Kingdom Hearts III to find out what I'm rambling on about.**

 **On a similar note, KHIII is GREAT! Awesome Gameplay, funnier dialogue, and the worlds are VERY well designed. The only thing I wish I could've seen in the game after having experienced it for myself was being able to play in Destiny Islands and Radiant Garden, but other than that, I loved it.**

 **Right, I can't think of anything else to say, so before I sign off**

 **trollzor69: It will be a while before she confesses, but she'll get there. They always do.**

 **Minxiboo: Thanks very much.**

 **Zero Kami no mu: Glad to hear that you like the story. I'll be sure to keep it up.**

 **Guest: Thank you.**

 **The Baz: Looks like Xehanort stole that piece of fun. Very selfish of him, isn't it?**

 **BushidoWookie: Glad t hear it. Hope you liked this chapter as well.**

 **Matt the Hedgehog Android: Dead it is. No fear of that.**

 **Antex-The Legendary Zoroark: He wouldn't admit it himself, but it was. Though with the Guardian's ability, that doesn't mean his work is out of action yet.**

 **Right, with that out of the way, It's time for me to go. Once again, thanks for the support, hope you all are having a good day and see you all later.**

 **To use my favorite quote '** _ **May your heart be your guiding key'**_


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